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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reinventing education while making discovering more accessible but likewise sparking arguments on its effect.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their learning experience, lecturers are raising concerns about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines academic stability, especially with numerous students not able to safeguard their tasks or offered works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a speaker at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed disappointment over the growing reliance on AI-generated reactions amongst trainees recounting a recent experience he had.

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"I provided an assignment to my MBA students, and out of over 100 students, about 40% sent the specific very same answers. These students did not even understand each other, however they all used the very same AI tool to generate their actions," he said.

He noted that this pattern prevails among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is especially worrying in part-time and range knowing programs.

"AI is a major difficulty when it comes to projects. Many trainees no longer think critically-they just go online, create answers, and send," he included.

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

This argument raises crucial questions about the role of AI in scholastic integrity and trainee development.

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

As of December 2024, ChatGPT had over 300 million individuals utilizing the AI chatbot every week and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the globe.

Decline of scholastic rigor

University speakers are increasingly concerned about trainees sending AI-generated tasks without truly comprehending the content.

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

"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send polished projects, however when asked fundamental concerns, they go blank. It's frustrating because education has to do with discovering, not just passing courses," he stated.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing number of superior graduates can not be completely attributed to AI but confessed that even high-performing trainees utilize these tools.
"A superior student is a first-rate student, AI or not, but that doesn't suggest they do not cheat. The benefits of AI might be peripheral, but it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he said.

- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various concern that some speakers themselves are guilty of the exact same practice.
"It's not simply trainees using AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course details, marking plans, and even examination concerns with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn utilize AI to create answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing genuine learning," he lamented.

Students' point of views on usage

Students, on the other hand, say AI has actually enhanced their knowing experience by making academic materials more easy to understand and accessible.

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has actually considerably helped her learning by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI assisted me comprehend things more easily, especially when dealing with intricate subjects," she explained.

However, she recalled a circumstances when she utilized AI to submit her task, just for her speaker to instantly acknowledge that it was generated by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad result.

- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently finished with a first-class 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 outstanding grades to actively engaging by asking questions and focusing on locations that speakers emphasize in class, as they are often shown in examination concerns.
"It's all about existing, paying attention, and taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge shared by my colleagues," he stated,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, admits to periodically copying straight from ChatGPT when facing several due dates.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have multiple due dates, and I understand I'm guilty of that, the majority of times the speakers don't get to read through them, but AI has also assisted me discover faster."

Balancing AI's role in education

Experts believe the solution depends on AI literacy; teaching students and lecturers how to utilize AI as a learning help instead of a faster way.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the value of a balanced technique that maintains human involvement while utilizing AI to enhance discovering outcomes.
"As we navigate the quickly evolving landscape of Expert system (AI), it is crucial that we prioritise human firm in education. We need to make sure that AI enhances, rather than changes, educators' crucial role in forming young minds," he stated

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity change specialist, addressed growing issues concerning using synthetic intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their possible threats to the instructional system.

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, however, emphasized the requirement for care in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among educators and schools toward incorporating AI tools in finding out environments. She determined 2 main reasons that AI tools are prevented in educational settings: security threats and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based on user interactions, which might not line up with the expectations of educators.
"It is not taking a look at it as a tutor," Akintade stated, tandme.co.uk explaining that AI doesn't accommodate specific mentor approaches.

Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing information, typically without appropriate attribution

"A lot of individuals require to comprehend, like I stated, this is data that has 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 suggests that is another individual's documentation," she cautioned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early concern in AI advancement known as "hallucination," where AI tools would create details that was not factual.
"Hallucination implied 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 discussed.

She recommended "grounding" AI by providing it with specific information to prevent such errors.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the option, especially when AI presents a chance to leapfrog standard educational approaches.

- She believes that consistently reinforcing key details helps people keep in mind and avoid making mistakes when confronted with obstacles.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell individuals the very same thing over and over again, when they will make the mistakes, then they'll keep in mind."

She likewise empasized the need for clear policies and procedures within schools, keeping in mind that many schools must address the people and process elements of this usage.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually resorted to in-class projects and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I mainly use tasks to ensure trainees supply initial work." However, he acknowledged that handling large classes makes this technique hard.

"If you set intricate concerns, students will not be able to use AI to get direct answers," he described.

He stressed the need for universities to train speakers on crafting exam questions that AI can not quickly fix while acknowledging that some lecturers struggle 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, focusing on ethical AI advancement with fairness, transparency, responsibility, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the guideline of AI in education, advising organizations to examine algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they meet ethical requirements, user information, and filter improper content.
- It stresses the requirement to assess the long-term impact of AI on crucial abilities like believing and creativity while producing policies that line up with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO recommends executing age constraints for GenAI usage to protect younger trainees and secure susceptible groups.
- For governments, it recommended embracing a coordinated nationwide technique to managing GenAI, including establishing oversight bodies and lining up regulations with existing information protection and privacy laws. It highlights evaluating AI risks, imposing more stringent guidelines for high-risk applications, and ensuring national information ownership.