Background <p>In surgical fields at the forefront of technological advancement with both virtual and physical artificial intelligence applications, nurses and nursing students should increase their positive attitudes toward artificial intelligence and demonstrate that they are ready to use it.</p> Methods <p>This study aims to examine the attitudes and readiness of nursing students practising in surgical units toward artificial intelligence. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 178 nursing students in the Faculty of Nursing at a university during the spring semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. “The Student Sociodemographic and Descriptive Characteristics Form”, “General Attitude towards Artificial Intelligence Scale”, and the “Medical Artificial Intelligence Readiness Scale for Medical Students” were used to collect study data. In this regard, students' positive and negative attitudes toward artificial intelligence, as well as their readiness in terms of cognition, ability, vision, and ethics related to artificial intelligence, were evaluated.</p> Results <p>In this study, the total mean score for positive attitudes on the General Attitude toward Artificial Intelligence Scale was 42.46±6.14, and for negative attitudes was 25.13±5.78. The total mean score on the Medical Artificial Intelligence Readiness Scale for Medical Students was 70.75±12, and the total mean scores of its factors were determined as 23.08±5.40 for cognition, 27.63±5.51 for ability, 9.68±2.07 for vision, and 10.35±2.40 for ethics.</p> Conclusions <p>Nursing students in surgical units showed generally positive attitudes toward artificial intelligence with moderate-to-high readiness, and greater positive attitudes were correlated with higher readiness. The study may help enhance nursing students’ awareness and understanding of artificial intelligence.</p>