The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education has transformed the way students seek information, complete assignments, and understand academic materials. However, AI use also raises ethical issues, including plagiarism, overreliance on instant answers, and a lack of transparency in acknowledging AI assistance. This study aims to analyze the effect of digital literacy on the ethical use of AI among university students. A quantitative survey method was employed. Data were collected using a 1–5 Likert-scale questionnaire from 125 respondents, with 119 complete responses analyzed. Digital literacy was measured using 12 items, while ethical AI use was measured using 12 items. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, validity testing, reliability testing, correlation, and simple linear regression. The results show that digital literacy has a positive and significant effect on ethical AI use. The correlation coefficient of 0.638 indicates a strong relationship, while the coefficient of determination of 0.406 indicates that digital literacy explains 40.6% of the variation in ethical AI use. The regression equation is Y = 1.196 + 0.706X. These findings indicate that students with higher digital literacy tend to use AI more ethically, responsibly, and transparently. This study recommends strengthening digital literacy programs with an emphasis on AI ethics in higher education.
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