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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing education while making learning more available but also sparking debates on its impact.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their learning experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic stability, specifically with lots of trainees not able to safeguard their tasks or given works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed disappointment over the growing reliance on AI-generated actions among students recounting a current experience he had.

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"I offered a project to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 students, about 40% submitted the specific very same answers. These students did not even know each other, however they all utilized the same AI tool to generate their reactions," he said.

He kept in mind that this pattern is prevalent among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is specifically worrying in part-time and range learning programs.

"AI is a severe obstacle when it comes to assignments. Many trainees no longer believe critically-they simply go on the internet, generate answers, and submit," he added.

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

This dispute raises crucial concerns about the function of AI in academic stability and trainee development.

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

Since December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million individuals utilizing the AI chatbot each week and 1 billion messages sent every day worldwide.

Decline of academic rigor

University lecturers are significantly concerned about students submitting AI-generated projects without genuinely understanding the content.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his concerns to Nairametrics about students significantly counting on ChatGPT, only to struggle with addressing fundamental concerns when checked.

"Many students copy from ChatGPT and submit refined projects, however when asked fundamental questions, they go blank. It's frustrating since education is about finding out, not simply passing courses," he stated.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu mentioned that the increasing variety of first-rate graduates can not be totally attributed to AI however confessed that even high-performing students use these tools.
"A first-class trainee is a superior student, AI or not, but that does not mean they do not cheat. The advantages of AI might be peripheral, but it is making students reliant and less analytical," he stated.

- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different concern that some speakers themselves are guilty of the exact same practice.
"It's not simply trainees utilizing AI lazily. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course lays out, marking schemes, and even test questions with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn utilize AI to generate responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing genuine knowing," he lamented.

Students' viewpoints on usage

Students, on the other hand, state AI has improved their learning experience by making academic products more understandable and accessible.

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

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

- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently finished with a first-class degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, firmly thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his outstanding grades to actively engaging by asking questions and focusing on areas that lecturers highlight in class, as they are frequently shown in examination questions.
"It's all about existing, focusing, and taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge shared by my associates," he stated,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to occasionally copying directly from ChatGPT when facing multiple due dates.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have several due dates, and I know I'm guilty of that, the majority of times the lecturers do not get to go through them, however AI has also helped me find out quicker."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts think the service depends on AI literacy; teaching trainees and lecturers how to use AI as a learning help rather than a faster way.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the importance of a well balanced approach that maintains human participation while harnessing AI to enhance discovering results.
"As we browse the rapidly progressing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is essential that we prioritise human company in education. We should guarantee that AI enhances, rather than replaces, educators' essential role in shaping young minds," he stated

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity change specialist, dealt with growing concerns concerning using expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective threats to the educational system.

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, however, highlighted the requirement for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance amongst educators and schools toward incorporating AI tools in learning environments. She recognized 2 primary reasons that AI tools are prevented in educational settings: security threats and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based upon user interactions, which may not align with the expectations of educators.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, discussing that AI doesn't accommodate particular mentor approaches.

Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing data, typically without proper attribution

"A great deal of individuals require to understand, like I stated, this is information that has actually 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 indicates that is another individual's documents," she cautioned.

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

She recommended "grounding" AI by offering it with particular information to avoid such mistakes.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the option, especially when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog conventional academic techniques.

- She believes that regularly enhancing crucial details assists people remember and prevent making errors when confronted with challenges.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform people 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 requirement for clear policies and treatments within schools, humanlove.stream keeping in mind that numerous schools ought to deal with the individuals and process elements of this use.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has turned to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I mainly utilize assignments to make sure students offer initial work." However, he acknowledged that managing big classes makes this technique tough.

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

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

- Nigeria released a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI development with fairness, transparency, accountability, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the guideline of AI in education, advising organizations to audit algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they meet ethical standards, opentx.cz protect user data, and filter unsuitable content.
- It stresses the need to examine the long-lasting effect of AI on vital skills like believing and creativity while creating policies that line up with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO suggests executing age constraints for GenAI use to secure younger students and protect vulnerable groups.
- For governments, it recommended embracing a collaborated nationwide technique to managing GenAI, including establishing oversight bodies and aligning guidelines with existing data protection and personal privacy laws. It highlights examining AI dangers, imposing stricter guidelines for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing national data ownership.