Generative Artificial Intelligence as Digital Capital: Unequal Access, Academic Engagement, and Critical Thinking among University Students in Pakistan

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is fundamentally changing the landscape of higher education, impacting how students learn, engage, and acquire knowledge. The pedagogical value of GenAI, however, cannot be achieved equally for all learners due to the inequality that can result from differences in technological access, AI literacy, and their ability to use AI to achieve learning goals. The study explores the role of generative artificial intelligence in digital capital and its relationship with unequal access, academic engagement, and critical thinking of the students at the university level in Pakistan. The study adopts Digital Capital Theory and Digital Divide Theory to frame the concept of AI digital capital in three aspects: AI access capital, AI knowledge capital, and AI application capital. The design of the study was a quantitative research design, which was followed by a cross-sectional survey method, and data was collected from 325 university students of Pakistan. The study investigates the relationship between students' AI competencies and their interaction with generative AI and the impact of AI use on academic and cognitive performance. The study builds on previous digital capital literature as it takes the perspectives of digital capital into the digital age of artificial intelligence and illustrates the impact of AI-related capabilities on educational opportunities. The study has significant implications for universities and policymakers in the realms of AI literacy building, access to AI tools, and responsible adoption of GenAI in higher education