This study investigated the mediating role of perceived individual innovativeness in the relationship between employment anxiety and attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) among social work students in Türkiye. Employing a quantitative correlational design, data were collected from 518 undergraduate social work students (125 male, 393 female) via validated scales measuring employment anxiety, individual innovativeness, and attitudes toward AI. Correlation and mediation analyses revealed that employment anxiety was positively associated with both individual innovativeness and AI attitudes. Moreover, individual innovativeness partially mediated the relationship between employment anxiety and attitudes toward AI, suggesting that students experiencing greater employment anxiety perceived themselves as more innovative, which in turn positively influenced their attitudes toward AI technologies. These findings indicate that employment anxiety, traditionally viewed as a barrier, may also act as a motivational factor fostering innovative orientations and positive AI perceptions. It is recommended that future studies employ longitudinal designs to examine causality and include additional mediators such as technological self-efficacy and AI ethics awareness to build a comprehensive model of technology acceptance within social work education.