THE ROLE OF PHYSICS IN DEVELOPING STUDENTS' PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE THROUGH THE USE OF DIGITAL AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGIES

This article analyzes the possibilities of enhancing students' professional competence — problem-solving, modeling, and data-analysis skills — in Uzbekistan's higher education system through the physics discipline by means of digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The study was conducted within the context of the “Digital Uzbekistan – 2030” strategy and the concept for developing the higher education system, and draws on foreign empirical studies and meta-analyses indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases between 2020 and 2025. The effectiveness of virtual laboratory platforms such as PhET Interactive Simulations, Labster, and Algodoo, as well as AI-based intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) and generative language models, in physics education is examined on a statistically grounded basis. On the basis of the study's findings, a three-stage pedagogical model for integrating digital and AI tools into the teaching of physics, together with practical methodological recommendations, has been developed.