Despite the widespread integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools in higher education, there is limited empirical insight into students' experiences, competences, and readiness to adopt personalized AI companions. To address this gap, this study investigates three key questions: (RQ1) What are students' prior experiences with AI tools, their perceived digital and AI-related competences, and their interest in emerging technologies?; (RQ2) How do students perceive a hypothetical "AI Buddy" (a digital companion designed to support students throughout their academic journey) including adoption, benefits, and concerns?; (RQ3) How does students' willingness to adopt an AI Buddy relate to motivations for engaging in traditional academic activities? Based on a survey of 926 students at a Swiss university, students revealed widespread prior use of AI, primarily for text-based and productivity tasks, with moderate self-assessed digital competence. Students expressed strong enthusiasm for adopting an AI Buddy, valuing its potential for time efficiency, personalized academic support, and study organization, but expressed significant concerns about data privacy and over-reliance. A weak negative correlation emerged between AI Buddy adoption willingness and motivations for attending lectures or using library resources, while social and collaborative motivations remained unaffected. These findings suggest that AI Buddies may partially replace information-seeking behaviours but preserve the social fabric of university life. This study provides practical recommendations including the need for robust privacy protections and critical engagement strategies to ensure AI Buddies enhance, rather than undermine, the academic and communal value of higher education.

翻译：尽管生成式人工智能（GenAI）工具已在高等教育中广泛普及，但关于学生对于个性化AI同伴的体验、能力及采纳意愿的实证洞察仍十分有限。为填补这一空白，本研究探究三个关键问题：（研究问题1）学生对AI工具的先验体验、其感知的数字与AI相关能力，以及对新兴技术的兴趣如何？（研究问题2）学生对假设性的“AI伙伴”（一种旨在支持学生整个学术生涯的数字伴侣）的感知如何，包括采纳意愿、潜在益处与担忧？（研究问题3）学生采纳AI伙伴的意愿与其参与传统学术活动的动机之间存在何种关联？基于对瑞士一所大学926名学生的调查，研究发现学生普遍存在广泛的AI使用经历，主要集中在基于文本与效率型任务方面，而其自评数字能力处于中等水平。学生对采纳AI伙伴表现出强烈热情，尤其看重其在节省时间、个性化学术支持及学习组织方面的潜力，但对数据隐私与过度依赖问题表达了显著担忧。AI伙伴的采纳意愿与参与讲座或利用图书馆资源的动机之间存在微弱负相关，而社交与合作动机则未受影响。这些结果表明，AI伙伴可能部分取代信息搜寻行为，但保留了大学生活的社交本质。本研究提出了实践建议，包括需要加强隐私保护措施及批判性参与策略，以确保AI伙伴能够增强而非削弱高等教育的学术与公共价值。