Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing education while making learning more available but likewise sparking disputes on its effect.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their knowing experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines academic integrity, specifically with many students not able to protect their tasks or provided works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, mediawiki1263.00web.net a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed aggravation over the growing dependence on AI-generated reactions amongst students stating a current experience he had.

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"I gave an assignment to my MBA students, and out of over 100 students, about 40% sent the exact very same responses. These trainees did not even understand each other, however they all used the very same AI tool to produce their reactions," he stated.

He noted that this pattern is prevalent amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees but is particularly concerning in part-time and distance learning programs.

"AI is a severe challenge when it comes to projects. Many trainees no longer think critically-they simply go online, generate answers, and send," he added.

Surprisingly, some speakers are likewise accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and students turn to AI for convenience instead of intellectual rigor.

This debate raises important questions about the function of AI in academic integrity and trainee development.

According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in January 2023, only one country had actually released regulations on generative AI as of July 2023.

Since December 2024, bphomesteading.com ChatGPT had more than 300 million people using the AI chatbot each week and 1 billion messages sent every day around the globe.

Decline of scholastic rigor

University speakers are significantly worried about trainees sending AI-generated projects without really understanding the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his issues to Nairametrics about students progressively depending on ChatGPT, just to fight with addressing standard questions when checked.

"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send refined assignments, but when asked basic concerns, they go blank. It's disappointing due to the fact that education is about finding out, not simply passing courses," he said.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu explained that the increasing number of top-notch graduates can not be completely credited to AI but admitted that even high-performing trainees utilize these tools.
"A first-class student is a superior student, AI or not, but that does not indicate they don't cheat. The advantages of AI may be peripheral, but it is making students dependent and less analytical," he said.

- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different concern that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the same practice.
"It's not just trainees using AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course lays out, marking plans, and even examination concerns with AI without examining them. Students in turn utilize AI to generate responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real learning," he regreted.

Students' perspectives on usage

Students, on the other hand, state AI has improved their learning experience by making academic materials more reasonable and available.

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has considerably aided her knowing by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI assisted me understand things more quickly, specifically when dealing with complex subjects," she discussed.

However, she recalled an instance when she utilized AI to send her task, only for her speaker to immediately acknowledge that it was produced by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad result.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently graduated with a first-class degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his outstanding grades to actively interesting by asking concerns and surgiteams.com concentrating on areas that lecturers highlight in class, as they are typically shown in exam questions.
"It's all about being present, focusing, and tapping into the wealth of understanding shared by my associates," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, confesses to periodically copying directly from ChatGPT when facing numerous deadlines.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have numerous due dates, and I understand I'm guilty of that, a lot of times the lecturers do not get to check out them, however AI has actually also assisted me learn faster."

Balancing AI's role in education

Experts believe the option depends on AI literacy; mentor trainees and lecturers how to use AI as a knowing help instead of a faster way.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the significance of a well balanced technique that maintains human participation while utilizing AI to enhance finding out results.
"As we browse the rapidly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is important that we prioritise human firm in education. We need to make sure that AI enhances, instead of changes, teachers' vital role in shaping young minds," he stated

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement expert, akropolistravel.com resolved growing issues regarding making use of synthetic intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their potential threats to the instructional system.

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, however, stressed the requirement for care in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance amongst educators and schools towards including AI tools in learning environments. She identified 2 primary reasons AI tools are prevented in instructional settings: security threats and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based upon user interactions, which may not line up with the expectations of educators.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade stated, describing that AI doesn't deal with particular mentor techniques.

Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing information, typically without correct attribution

"A lot of people require to understand, like I stated, this is information that has been trained on. It is not just bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing info that some other people are fed into it, which in essence indicates that is another individual's documents," she cautioned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early concern in AI development known as "hallucination," where AI tools would create information that was not factual.
"Hallucination indicated that it was bringing out information from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that information from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.

She suggested "grounding" AI by offering it with specific details to prevent such mistakes.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the service, especially when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog traditional educational methods.

- She believes that consistently reinforcing crucial info helps people remember and avoid making mistakes when confronted with obstacles.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform individuals the very same thing over and over once again, when they are about to make the mistakes, then they'll keep in mind."

She likewise empasized the need for clear policies and procedures within schools, noting that many schools need to deal with individuals and process elements of this use.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually turned to in-class projects and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I primarily utilize tasks to make sure trainees provide initial work." However, he acknowledged that handling large classes makes this method tough.

"If you set complex concerns, trainees will not be able to use AI to get direct answers," he discussed.

He highlighted the requirement for universities to train lecturers on crafting examination questions that AI can not easily fix while acknowledging that some lecturers battle to counter AI abuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some speakers are analogue," he said.

- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI development with fairness, transparency, accountability, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the guideline of AI in education, encouraging organizations to examine algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they meet ethical standards, protect user data, and filter unsuitable .
- It stresses the requirement to examine the long-lasting impact of AI on important skills like thinking and creativity while creating policies that line up with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO recommends implementing age constraints for GenAI usage to secure younger students and secure susceptible groups.
- For governments, it encouraged embracing a coordinated national approach to managing GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and lining up policies with existing data defense and personal privacy laws. It stresses examining AI dangers, implementing stricter rules for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing national data ownership.