Validity and Trustworthiness of AI-Generated Information in an Online Nutrition Course

As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) becomes more influential in higher education, the student body’s capacity to use GenAI safely and ethically, particularly where misinformation is easily propagated, such as nutrition, is still under-researched. In the present study, a faculty-designed online nutrition course required students to engage in AI-generated information over two semesters. With an enrollment of 424 students, researchers tracked student perspectives on the tool’s usability and trustworthiness. Results suggest most students are initially more trusting of information created by the AI than that of other sources, despite beginning the course with mixed opinions about GenAI’s usefulness. As the semester progressed, students became more scrutinizing of AI-generated information, despite a significantly greater number of students also confessing a positive opinion of the tool’s place in higher education. With this change, students found the platform easier to use, with a heightened desire to continue using it.