Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing education while making learning more available however likewise triggering arguments on its impact.
While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their knowing experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines academic stability, particularly with many trainees unable to protect their projects or provided 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 reactions among trainees recounting a current experience he had.
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"I provided a project to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% submitted the precise same responses. These trainees did not even understand each other, however they all used the exact same AI tool to produce their actions," he stated.
He noted that this pattern is widespread amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate students however is specifically concerning in part-time and range knowing programs.
"AI is a severe obstacle when it comes to tasks. Many trainees no longer think critically-they simply go on the internet, create answers, and send," he added.
Surprisingly, some lecturers are likewise accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both teachers and students turn to AI for convenience instead of intellectual rigor.
This argument raises important concerns about the role of AI in academic integrity 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 launched guidelines on generative AI as of July 2023.
Since December 2024, ChatGPT had over 300 million people utilizing the AI chatbot every week and 1 billion messages sent every day around the world.
Decline of academic rigor
University speakers are significantly concerned about trainees sending AI-generated projects without truly comprehending the material.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his concerns to Nairametrics about trainees progressively depending on ChatGPT, only to deal with responding to fundamental concerns when tested.
"Many students copy from ChatGPT and submit sleek projects, but when asked standard questions, they go blank. It's frustrating due to the fact that education is about finding out, not simply passing courses," he stated.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu explained that the increasing variety of superior graduates can not be entirely attributed to AI but admitted that even high-performing students utilize these tools.
"A top-notch trainee is a first-class student, AI or not, however that doesn't suggest they do not cheat. The benefits of AI might be peripheral, however it is making students reliant and less analytical," he stated.
- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various concern that some speakers themselves are guilty of the very same practice.
"It's not just trainees utilizing AI lazily. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, create lesson notes, course describes, marking plans, and even examination concerns with AI without examining them. Students in turn use AI to generate responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing real knowing," he lamented.
Students' viewpoints on use
Students, on the other hand, say AI has improved their knowing experience by making academic materials more reasonable and accessible.
- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has considerably assisted her learning by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI assisted me understand things more quickly, especially when dealing with complicated topics," she described.
However, she recalled an instance when she utilized AI to submit her task, just for her lecturer to instantly recognize that it was created by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad effect.
- Bryan Okwuba, who recently finished with a first-class degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, securely believes that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively interesting by asking concerns and concentrating on areas that lecturers emphasize in class, demo.qkseo.in as they are often shown in examination questions.
"It's all about being present, taking note, and tapping into the wealth of understanding shared by my colleagues," he said,
- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, vetlek.ru admits to sometimes copying straight from ChatGPT when dealing with several 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, many times the lecturers do not get to check out them, but AI has actually also helped me find out quicker."
Balancing AI's role in education
Experts believe the option depends on AI literacy; mentor students and lecturers how to use AI as a knowing aid rather than a shortcut.
- Minister of Education, forum.batman.gainedge.org Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the importance of a balanced method that maintains human participation while harnessing AI to enhance finding out outcomes.
"As we navigate the quickly evolving landscape of Expert system (AI), it is crucial that we prioritise human agency in education. We need to make sure that AI improves, rather than changes, teachers' important role in forming young minds," he said
Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement professional, dealt with growing issues relating to using synthetic intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective dangers to the instructional system.
- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, however, stressed the requirement for care in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among teachers and schools towards incorporating AI tools in discovering environments. She identified 2 main factors why AI tools are dissuaded in instructional settings: security dangers and plagiarism. She explained that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based upon user interactions, which may not align with the expectations of teachers.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, discussing that AI does not accommodate particular teaching techniques.
Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing information, frequently without appropriate attribution
"A lot of people require to understand, like I stated, this is data that has been trained on. It is not simply bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing details that some other people are fed into it, which in essence suggests that is another person's paperwork," she warned.
- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI development called "hallucination," where AI tools would produce info that was not factual.
"Hallucination indicated that it was bringing out info from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that info from you, it was going to make one up," she explained.
She recommended "grounding" AI by supplying it with specific details to avoid such errors.
Navigating AI in Education
Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the service, particularly when AI provides an opportunity to leapfrog traditional instructional approaches.
- She believes that regularly enhancing crucial details helps people remember and prevent making mistakes when faced with challenges.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell individuals the exact same thing over and over once again, when they are about to make the mistakes, then they'll keep in mind."
She also empasized the requirement for clear policies and procedures within schools, noting that numerous schools must address the people and procedure elements of this usage.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has turned to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I generally use assignments to ensure students offer original work." However, he acknowledged that handling big classes makes this approach hard.
"If you set complicated concerns, trainees won't have the ability to use AI to get direct responses," he described.
He emphasized the need for universities to train lecturers on crafting exam concerns that AI can not easily solve while acknowledging that some speakers battle to counter AI misuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he stated.
- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI advancement with fairness, openness, accountability, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the regulation of AI in education, encouraging organizations to examine algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they meet ethical standards, safeguard user data, and filter inappropriate content.
- It stresses the need to examine the long-term impact of AI on critical skills like believing and creativity while creating policies that line up with ethical structures. Additionally, wiki.rolandradio.net UNESCO suggests executing age constraints for GenAI use to secure more youthful students and safeguard vulnerable groups.
- For federal governments, it advised embracing a collaborated national technique to controling GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and aligning regulations with existing data defense and privacy laws. It emphasizes examining AI dangers, enforcing stricter rules for high-risk applications, and ensuring national information ownership.
