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Abstract As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education, concerns have arisen regarding its potential impact on learners’ social development. This study investigates the relationship between AI learning dependence and interpersonal incompetence among EFL university students, with a particular focus on the moderating role of AI ethical awareness. A survey of 608 non-English major university students was conducted. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and structural equation modeling (SEM), the research identified factors contributing to AI dependence in EFL learning. Additionally, the impact of AI dependence on learners’ interpersonal incompetence was examined through Media Dependency Theory. The findings indicate that factors such as effort expectancy, performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, and social influence are positively associated with learners’ AI dependence. This dependence, in turn, is positively associated with greater interpersonal incompetence. Furthermore, AI ethical awareness moderates this relationship: the positive association between AI dependence and interpersonal incompetence is weaker among learners with higher ethical awareness. The study confirms the applicability of UTAUT in explaining AI learning dependence and highlights the importance of fostering ethical awareness to mitigate the potential social risks of AI in education. Practical suggestions are also provided to support the sustainable integration of AI in EFL education.
Zhang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.