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Expert System (AI) is changing education while making learning more accessible but likewise stimulating disputes on its impact.

While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their knowing experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines academic integrity, particularly with numerous students unable to defend their projects or given works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed aggravation over the growing reliance on AI-generated reactions amongst trainees recounting a current experience he had.

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"I provided a task to my MBA students, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% submitted the exact same answers. These students did not even know each other, but they all used the very same AI tool to generate their responses," he said.

He kept in mind that this pattern is common among both undergraduate and addsub.wiki postgraduate trainees but is especially concerning in part-time and distance learning programs.

"AI is a major challenge when it pertains to projects. Many students no longer think critically-they simply browse the web, create answers, and submit," he included.

Surprisingly, some lecturers are likewise accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both teachers and students turn to AI for benefit rather than intellectual rigor.

This debate raises important concerns about the function of AI in scholastic stability and trainee advancement.

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

As of December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million people using 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 students sending AI-generated tasks without really comprehending the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his issues to Nairametrics about trainees increasingly depending on ChatGPT, only to have problem with responding to fundamental concerns when checked.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit sleek projects, but when asked standard concerns, they go blank. It's frustrating since education is about learning, not just passing courses," he stated.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of superior graduates can not be completely associated to AI but admitted that even high-performing trainees use these tools.
"A first-rate student is a first-rate trainee, AI or not, but that doesn't suggest they don't cheat. The benefits of AI may be peripheral, but it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he stated.

- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various issue that some speakers themselves are guilty of the same practice.
"It's not simply trainees utilizing AI lazily. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, create lesson notes, course lays out, marking plans, and even exam questions with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn utilize AI to create responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real learning," he regreted.

Students' perspectives on use

Students, on the other hand, scientific-programs.science say AI has enhanced their learning experience by making scholastic materials more easy to understand and accessible.

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has substantially helped her learning by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of lengthy texts.
"AI assisted me understand things more easily, specifically when handling complicated subjects," she described.

However, she recalled a circumstances when she used AI to send her project, only for her speaker to instantly recognize that it was created by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad result.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently finished with a superior degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly thinks that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively engaging by asking concerns and focusing on that speakers stress in class, as they are often reflected in test concerns.
"It's all about being present, focusing, and taking advantage of the wealth of understanding shared by my colleagues," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to periodically copying straight from ChatGPT when facing numerous due dates.
"To be honest, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have multiple due dates, and I know I'm guilty of that, a lot of times the speakers don't get to check out them, however AI has likewise assisted me learn faster."

Balancing AI's role in education

Experts believe the solution lies in AI literacy; mentor trainees and speakers how to utilize AI as a learning help instead of a shortcut.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the significance of a balanced technique that maintains human involvement while utilizing AI to improve finding out results.
"As we browse the rapidly evolving landscape of Expert system (AI), it is crucial that we prioritise human company in education. We must guarantee that AI enhances, rather than changes, teachers' essential role in shaping young minds," he stated

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity transformation specialist, addressed growing issues regarding using expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective risks to the educational system.

- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, nevertheless, emphasized the requirement for caution in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance among educators and schools towards incorporating AI tools in discovering environments. She recognized two primary factors why AI tools are prevented in educational settings: security threats and plagiarism. She explained that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based on user interactions, which might not align with the expectations of teachers.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade stated, describing that AI doesn't accommodate specific teaching methods.

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

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

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI development called "hallucination," where AI tools would generate details that was not factual.
"Hallucination implied that it was highlighting information from the air. If ChatGPT might not get that information from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.

She recommended "grounding" AI by offering it with specific details to avoid such errors.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the option, especially when AI provides a chance to leapfrog conventional instructional methods.

- She believes that regularly strengthening essential info assists individuals remember and prevent making mistakes when confronted with challenges.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform individuals the exact same thing over and over once again, when they are about to make the errors, then they'll remember."

She likewise empasized the need for clear policies and treatments within schools, noting that lots of schools need to address individuals and process elements of this use.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has resorted to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I generally use tasks to guarantee trainees supply original work." However, he acknowledged that managing big classes makes this technique tough.

"If you set intricate questions, students won't be able to utilize AI to get direct answers," he described.

He highlighted the need for universities to train lecturers on crafting test questions that AI can not quickly fix while acknowledging that some speakers struggle to counter AI abuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some speakers are analogue," he stated.

- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, focusing on ethical AI advancement with fairness, transparency, accountability, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the guideline of AI in education, advising institutions to investigate algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they satisfy ethical standards, secure user information, and filter unsuitable material.
- It worries the requirement to assess the long-lasting effect of AI on important abilities like thinking and imagination while producing policies that align with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO recommends executing age constraints for GenAI usage to safeguard more youthful trainees and protect vulnerable groups.
- For federal governments, it advised embracing a coordinated nationwide method to controling GenAI, including establishing oversight bodies and lining up guidelines with existing data defense and privacy laws. It highlights assessing AI threats, implementing stricter guidelines for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing nationwide data ownership.