Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming education while making discovering more accessible but also sparking disputes on its effect.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for enhancing their learning experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens scholastic stability, specifically with lots of trainees unable to defend their assignments or offered works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, classifieds.ocala-news.com a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed frustration over the growing reliance on AI-generated actions among students 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% sent the precise same responses. These trainees did not even understand each other, however they all used the very same AI tool to produce their actions," he said.

He noted that this pattern is prevalent amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees but is specifically worrying in part-time and range learning programs.

"AI is a severe difficulty when it pertains to projects. Many trainees no longer think critically-they simply go on the internet, create responses, and submit," he added.

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

This argument raises critical concerns about the function of AI in scholastic stability 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.

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

Decline of academic rigor

University lecturers are increasingly concerned about students submitting AI-generated assignments without genuinely understanding the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his issues to Nairametrics about students increasingly depending on ChatGPT, just to battle with responding to fundamental questions when tested.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and send polished projects, 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 variety of superior graduates can not be entirely credited to AI but admitted that even high-performing students utilize these tools.
"A superior trainee is a first-rate student, AI or not, but that does not indicate they don't cheat. The benefits of AI may be peripheral, however it is making trainees reliant 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 very same practice.
"It's not just students using AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course describes, marking plans, and even exam questions with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn use AI to generate responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing real learning," he regreted.

Students' perspectives on use

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

- Eniola Arowosafe, photorum.eclat-mauve.fr a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has significantly aided her knowing by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of lengthy texts.
"AI assisted me understand things more easily, specifically when handling intricate topics," she described.

However, she remembered a circumstances when she utilized AI to submit her job, only for her lecturer to instantly acknowledge that it was produced by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad impact.

- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently graduated with a first-rate degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly thinks that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively interesting by asking questions and on areas that lecturers stress in class, as they are frequently shown in exam concerns.
"It's everything about being present, taking note, and using the wealth of knowledge shared by my coworkers," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, admits to occasionally copying straight from ChatGPT when dealing with multiple due dates.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have multiple due dates, and I know I'm guilty of that, most times the lecturers don't get to check out them, however AI has likewise assisted me discover much faster."

Balancing AI's function in education

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

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the importance of a balanced method that keeps human involvement while utilizing AI to enhance learning outcomes.
"As we navigate the rapidly progressing landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is crucial that we prioritise human firm in education. We should make sure that AI improves, instead of changes, educators' vital function in forming young minds," he stated

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity change professional, addressed growing concerns relating to using artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their potential dangers to the educational system.

- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, nevertheless, stressed the requirement for caution in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among teachers and schools toward incorporating AI tools in finding out environments. She identified two primary factors why AI tools are prevented in instructional settings: security dangers and plagiarism. She explained that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond 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, explaining that AI does not deal with particular mentor methods.

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

"A great deal of individuals require to comprehend, like I said, 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 implies that is another person's documents," she warned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI development referred to as "hallucination," where AI tools would generate details that was not factual.
"Hallucination implied that it was drawing out information from the air. If ChatGPT might not get that information from you, it was going to make one up," she described.

She suggested "grounding" AI by offering it with particular information to prevent such mistakes.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the solution, particularly when AI provides a chance to leapfrog traditional academic techniques.

- She thinks that consistently enhancing crucial details helps people remember and avoid making errors when faced with difficulties.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform people the very same thing over and over again, when they will make the mistakes, then they'll keep in mind."

She also empasized the requirement for clear policies and treatments within schools, noting that lots of schools need to resolve the individuals and asteroidsathome.net process elements of this usage.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has turned to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I primarily use assignments to guarantee trainees supply initial work." However, he acknowledged that handling big classes makes this technique challenging.

"If you set complex questions, students won't have the ability to utilize AI to get direct answers," he explained.

He highlighted the requirement for universities to train lecturers on crafting test questions that AI can not easily solve while acknowledging that some speakers battle to counter AI misuse due to an absence 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, openness, accountability, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the guideline of AI in education, advising organizations to investigate algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they meet ethical standards, safeguard user data, and filter unsuitable material.
- It stresses the requirement to assess the long-lasting impact of AI on critical skills like believing and imagination while creating policies that line up with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO advises executing age limitations for GenAI use to protect more youthful students and secure vulnerable groups.
- For governments, it advised adopting a coordinated national method to managing GenAI, higgledy-piggledy.xyz including developing oversight bodies and lining up guidelines with existing data security and privacy laws. It stresses examining AI dangers, imposing more stringent rules for high-risk applications, and making sure nationwide information ownership.