Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing education while making finding out more accessible but likewise stimulating debates on its impact.

While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for enhancing their learning experience, speakers are raising issues about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines academic integrity, specifically with numerous students unable to safeguard their tasks or provided works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, wikitravel.org a speaker at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed disappointment over the growing reliance on AI-generated actions among students stating a recent experience he had.

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"I offered an assignment to my MBA students, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% submitted the specific same answers. These students did not even know each other, however they all used the same AI tool to produce their reactions," he stated.

He noted that this trend prevails among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees but is particularly worrying in part-time and distance learning programs.

"AI is a major challenge when it pertains to projects. Many trainees no longer believe critically-they just browse the web, produce answers, and submit," he added.

Surprisingly, some speakers are also implicated of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and trainees turn to AI for benefit instead of intellectual rigor.

This debate raises important concerns about the function of AI in academic stability and trainee development.

According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million month-to-month active users in January 2023, just one country had actually launched guidelines on generative AI since July 2023.

As of December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million people utilizing the AI chatbot each week and 1 billion messages sent every day all over the world.

Decline of scholastic rigor

University speakers are progressively concerned about trainees sending AI-generated assignments without really understanding the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his issues to Nairametrics about trainees progressively counting on ChatGPT, only to deal with answering standard questions when evaluated.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and send polished tasks, but when asked standard concerns, they go blank. It's frustrating because education is about learning, not just passing courses," he said.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the number of top-notch graduates can not be completely attributed to AI but admitted that even high-performing trainees use these tools.
"A first-class student is a top-notch student, AI or not, but that doesn't mean they don't cheat. The benefits of AI might be peripheral, but it is making students dependent and less analytical," he said.

- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various issue that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the same practice.
"It's not simply students using AI lazily. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, create lesson notes, course outlines, marking plans, and even test concerns with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn use AI to produce responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real learning," he lamented.

Students' viewpoints on usage

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

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

However, she remembered an instance when she utilized AI to send her job, just for her lecturer to instantly acknowledge that it was produced by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad impact.

- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently finished with a superior degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, securely thinks that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his exceptional grades to actively interesting by asking concerns and focusing on areas that speakers emphasize in class, as they are frequently reflected in exam questions.
"It's everything about being present, taking note, and tapping into the wealth of knowledge shared by my colleagues," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, confesses to sometimes copying directly from ChatGPT when dealing with several deadlines.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have numerous due dates, and I understand I'm guilty of that, the majority of times the lecturers don't get to check out them, however AI has actually also helped me discover much faster."

Balancing AI's role in education

Experts think the service depends on AI literacy; teaching trainees and speakers how to utilize AI as a knowing aid rather than a faster way.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the significance of a well balanced technique that maintains human involvement while harnessing AI to enhance finding out results.
"As we browse the quickly developing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is essential that we prioritise human company in education. We should guarantee that AI enhances, instead of replaces, teachers' crucial function in shaping young minds," he stated

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity transformation professional, resolved growing concerns concerning making use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their possible dangers to the academic system.

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, nevertheless, stressed the need for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance amongst educators and schools towards incorporating AI tools in learning environments. She recognized two main reasons AI tools are dissuaded in instructional settings: security risks and plagiarism. She explained that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based on user interactions, which might not align with the expectations of educators.
"It is not taking a look at it as a tutor," Akintade stated, discussing that AI doesn't cater to particular teaching techniques.

Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing data, often without correct attribution

"A lot of individuals need to comprehend, like I stated, this is information that has actually been trained on. It is not simply bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing info that some other people are fed into it, which in essence means that is another individual's documentation," she cautioned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI advancement understood as "hallucination," where AI tools would generate info that was not factual.
"Hallucination suggested that it was drawing out information from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that info from you, it was going to make one up," she explained.

She suggested "grounding" AI by offering it with particular details to prevent such errors.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the option, particularly when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog traditional instructional methods.

- She believes that consistently enhancing crucial information assists individuals keep in mind and avoid making mistakes when faced with challenges.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform individuals the exact same thing over and over once again, when they will make the mistakes, then they'll keep in mind."

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

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually resorted to in-class projects and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I generally use tasks to make sure students provide original work." However, he acknowledged that handling large classes makes this approach difficult.

"If you set complicated concerns, students won't be able to use AI to get direct responses," he described.

He stressed the requirement for universities to train lecturers on crafting examination concerns that AI can not quickly resolve while acknowledging that some speakers battle to counter AI misuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some speakers are analogue," he stated.

- Nigeria released a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, focusing on ethical AI advancement with fairness, transparency, accountability, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the policy of AI in education, advising institutions to examine algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they fulfill ethical requirements, secure user data, and filter unsuitable content.
- It worries the requirement to examine the long-term impact of AI on important skills like believing and creativity while creating policies that line up with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO suggests implementing age limitations for GenAI usage to protect younger students and safeguard susceptible groups.
- For federal governments, it recommended adopting a coordinated national technique to controling GenAI, including establishing oversight bodies and lining up regulations with existing data security and privacy laws. It stresses examining AI dangers, imposing stricter rules for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing nationwide data ownership.