Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming education while making finding out more accessible but also sparking arguments on its effect.

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

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a speaker at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed frustration over the growing dependence on AI-generated responses amongst students recounting a current experience he had.

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"I offered a project to my MBA students, and out of over 100 students, about 40% submitted the exact same responses. These students did not even understand each other, but they all utilized the same AI tool to produce their actions," he stated.

He noted that this trend is prevalent among both undergraduate and postgraduate students however is specifically concerning in part-time and range knowing programs.

"AI is a severe challenge when it comes to assignments. Many trainees no longer think critically-they just go on the internet, create responses, and send," he added.

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

This dispute raises vital concerns about the function of AI in scholastic integrity and trainee development.

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

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

Decline of academic rigor

University speakers are significantly concerned about students submitting AI-generated assignments without genuinely comprehending the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his concerns to Nairametrics about trainees progressively relying on ChatGPT, only to have a hard time with responding to standard concerns when tested.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and send polished assignments, but when asked standard concerns, they go blank. It's frustrating because education has to do with discovering, not simply passing courses," he stated.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu explained that the increasing number of first-rate graduates can not be completely associated to AI however admitted that even high-performing students utilize these tools.
"A first-class student is a top-notch student, AI or not, however that doesn't imply they do not cheat. The benefits of AI may be peripheral, but it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he said.

- 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 slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, create lesson notes, course outlines, marking plans, and even exam concerns with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn utilize AI to produce responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing real learning," he lamented.

Students' viewpoints on usage

Students, on the other hand, say AI has improved their knowing experience by making academic materials more reasonable and accessible.

- Eniola Arowosafe, linked.aub.edu.lb a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has significantly helped her knowing by breaking down complex terms and providing summaries of lengthy texts.
"AI helped me comprehend things more easily, especially when handling complicated subjects," she explained.

However, she recalled a circumstances when she utilized AI to submit her job, only for her lecturer to immediately acknowledge that it was produced by ChatGPT and it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad impact.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently graduated with a top-notch 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 exceptional grades to actively interesting by asking questions and concentrating on locations that lecturers emphasize in class, as they are typically shown in examination questions.
"It's all about being present, paying attention, and taking advantage of the wealth of understanding shared by my coworkers," he stated,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, confesses to occasionally copying straight from ChatGPT when dealing with multiple due dates.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have multiple deadlines, and I know I'm guilty of that, many times the speakers do not get to go through them, but AI has actually also helped me learn quicker."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts think the solution depends on AI literacy; mentor students and lecturers how to use AI as a learning help rather than a shortcut.

- 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 utilizing AI to improve finding out results.
"As we browse the rapidly progressing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is crucial that we prioritise human agency in education. We need to ensure that AI improves, rather than changes, educators' crucial function in forming young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

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

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, nevertheless, highlighted the requirement for caution in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance amongst educators and schools towards integrating AI tools in discovering environments. She identified two primary reasons why AI tools are discouraged in instructional settings: security dangers and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based upon user interactions, which may not line up with the expectations of teachers.
"It is not taking a look at it as a tutor," Akintade said, discussing that AI does not deal with particular teaching methods.

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

"A great deal of people require to comprehend, 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 information that some other individuals are fed into it, which in essence implies that is another person's paperwork," she warned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI advancement referred to as "hallucination," where AI tools would create info that was not accurate.
"Hallucination meant that it was highlighting details from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that details from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.

She recommended "grounding" AI by offering it with particular information to prevent such errors.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the solution, especially when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog traditional instructional techniques.

- She believes that consistently reinforcing key information helps individuals remember and prevent making errors when faced with challenges.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell people the same thing over and over again, when they will make the mistakes, then they'll keep in mind."

She likewise empasized the requirement for clear policies and procedures within schools, noting that lots of schools should resolve the individuals and process elements of this use.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually turned to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I generally use projects to ensure students provide original work." However, he acknowledged that managing large classes makes this technique tough.

"If you set complex concerns, trainees won't be able to utilize AI to get direct responses," he explained.

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

- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI advancement with fairness, transparency, responsibility, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the policy of AI in education, bio.rogstecnologia.com.br encouraging organizations to investigate algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they meet ethical standards, safeguard user information, and filter improper content.
- It worries the need to examine the long-term effect of AI on vital skills like believing and creativity while producing policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO suggests carrying out age constraints for GenAI usage to protect more youthful students and protect vulnerable groups.
- For federal governments, it encouraged adopting a collaborated nationwide approach to controling GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and aligning regulations with existing data defense and privacy laws. It emphasizes evaluating AI threats, enforcing stricter guidelines for high-risk applications, and ensuring nationwide information ownership.