Enhancing artificial intelligence literacy through cross-cultural online workshops

•We assessed the artificial intelligence (AI) literacy level of international university students who had limited prior knowledge of programming before and after online workshops.•Comparisons of AI literacy's mean value levels reveal statistically significant improvements in the students’ conceptual and self-perceived understanding of AI.•Reflective learning diaries reveal the students’ fear and lack of prior knowledge of AI, as well as the joy of becoming more competent at it.•Recommendations based on the ideas of interactive and participatory online learning in a cross-cultural setting for AI literacy are offered. This article presents the results of a study conducted in collaboration with two universities – one in Lapland (Finland) and the other in Hong Kong (China) – during the development of an international university course on global media education. The objective of the study was to examine international students’ changing conceptual understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy as part of the course. The need for this study arose from the recent rapid spread of AI across industries, which has connected human learning to machine learning. This requires competence in AI to contribute to future society. Five hours of online lectures on AI literacy were delivered during two workshops to students (N = 29) from 13 countries with no or limited prior knowledge of the subject in 2021 and 2022. The participants filled out pre- and post-workshop quantitative questionnaires and wrote diaries about their learning process, the development of their understanding of AI-literacy concepts, and their thoughts on the pedagogical approaches used. The quantitative data were analysed using a paired-samples t-test, while the qualitative data were examined using thematic-content analysis. The findings show that the students’ knowledge of AI and their awareness of the importance of AI literacy and media education increased significantly. Further research is needed so that a more appropriate curriculum can be designed for them. We outline some key activities that offer interactive and participatory ways to learn AI in order to assist educators in planning and delivering AI-literacy courses as part of cross-cultural media education. [Display omitted]