This study provides initial views on ChatGPT of non-technical students and educators from universities in the USA, Cambodia, Finland, Ghana, and Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken during March-April 2023, to assess students’ current usage and perceptions of ChatGPT’s potential and drawbacks. The survey revealed that students in all countries saw ChatGPT as a timesaver and a valuable source for research, studying, and homework, but students were also concerned about their dependence on ChatGPT and the potential for disrupting learning. Students, who included both adopters and non-adopters, raised several potential benefits and drawbacks of using ChatGPT. The contribution of this exploratory study is to raise the issues that students perceived of using ChatGPT at the time of early adoption. Future research can assess how attitudes to the use of artificial intelligence evolve, as well as offer recommendations on the use of ChatGPT and similar artificial intelligence tools.