Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming education while making finding out more available but likewise triggering arguments on its impact.

While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for enhancing their learning experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and archmageriseswiki.com undermines academic stability, especially with lots of trainees unable to protect their assignments or offered works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a speaker at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed disappointment over the growing dependence on AI-generated actions among trainees stating a current experience he had.

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"I gave an assignment to my MBA students, and out of over 100 students, about 40% sent the specific same answers. These trainees did not even know each other, but they all used the exact same AI tool to generate their responses," he stated.

He noted that this trend is prevalent among both undergraduate and postgraduate students however is especially concerning in part-time and distance learning programs.

"AI is a major obstacle when it concerns projects. Many students no longer believe critically-they simply browse the web, generate answers, and submit," he added.

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

This argument raises important concerns about the function of AI in scholastic stability and student advancement.

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

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

Decline of academic rigor

University lecturers are significantly worried about trainees sending AI-generated projects without really understanding the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his issues to Nairametrics about students progressively relying on ChatGPT, only to have problem with responding to fundamental concerns when checked.

"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send refined tasks, but when asked standard questions, they go blank. It's frustrating since education is about learning, not simply passing courses," he said.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu explained that the increasing variety of top-notch graduates can not be totally credited to AI however confessed that even high-performing trainees use these tools.
"A superior trainee is a first-rate student, AI or not, however that doesn't mean they don't cheat. The advantages of AI might be peripheral, however it is making students dependent and less analytical," he stated.

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

Students' viewpoints on usage

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

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has substantially aided her knowing by breaking down complex terms and providing summaries of lengthy texts.
"AI assisted me understand things more easily, especially when dealing with complicated topics," she described.

However, she recalled a circumstances when she utilized AI to send her job, only for her speaker to immediately acknowledge that it was created by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad result.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently graduated with a first-class degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, securely believes that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his outstanding grades to actively engaging by asking concerns and concentrating on locations that speakers stress in class, as they are often reflected in examination concerns.
"It's everything about existing, paying attention, and taking advantage of the wealth of understanding shared by my colleagues," he stated,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, confesses to sometimes copying directly from ChatGPT when dealing with several due dates.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have numerous due dates, and I know I'm guilty of that, most times the lecturers do not get to review them, but AI has also helped me learn quicker."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts believe the solution lies in AI literacy; mentor students and lecturers how to utilize AI as a learning aid instead of a shortcut.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the importance of a balanced approach that keeps human involvement while harnessing AI to enhance discovering results.
"As we browse the quickly progressing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is essential that we prioritise human company in education. We must ensure that AI improves, instead of changes, educators' important role in shaping young minds," he stated

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity transformation professional, resolved growing issues regarding the use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their possible risks to the instructional system.

- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, nevertheless, stressed the need for caution in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among teachers and schools towards integrating AI tools in learning environments. She identified two main reasons that AI tools are discouraged in instructional settings: security threats and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based on user interactions, which may not line up with the expectations of educators.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, describing that AI doesn't accommodate particular teaching methods.

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

"A lot of people require to comprehend, like I said, this is information 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 means that is another individual's documentation," she warned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI advancement referred to as "hallucination," where AI tools would generate information that was not accurate.
"Hallucination implied that it was bringing out details from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that details from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.

She suggested "grounding" AI by providing it with specific info to prevent such errors.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the solution, especially when AI presents a chance to leapfrog conventional instructional approaches.

- She believes that consistently enhancing essential details assists individuals remember and avoid making errors when confronted with obstacles.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell individuals the very same thing over and over again, when they will make the errors, then they'll remember."

She likewise empasized the need for clear policies and procedures within schools, noting that lots of schools ought to attend to individuals and procedure elements of this usage.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually turned to in-class tasks and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I generally utilize tasks to ensure trainees supply original work." However, he acknowledged that handling big classes makes this approach challenging.

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

He stressed the need for universities to train speakers on crafting that AI can not easily solve while acknowledging that some lecturers struggle to counter AI abuse due to an absence of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he said.

- Nigeria released a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, focusing on ethical AI development with fairness, transparency, accountability, forum.batman.gainedge.org and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the policy of AI in education, advising institutions to examine algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they satisfy ethical standards, safeguard user information, and genbecle.com filter improper content.
- It stresses the requirement to assess the long-lasting impact of AI on crucial abilities like thinking and creativity while producing policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO advises implementing age limitations for GenAI use to secure more youthful students and safeguard vulnerable groups.
- For governments, it encouraged embracing a collaborated nationwide method to managing GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and aligning regulations with existing information security and privacy laws. It highlights evaluating AI risks, implementing more stringent rules for wikitravel.org high-risk applications, and ensuring nationwide information ownership.