GitLab

Expert System (AI) is transforming education while making finding out more accessible but also triggering arguments on its effect.

While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their knowing experience, speakers are raising issues about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic stability, particularly with numerous students not able to protect their projects or provided works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a speaker at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed disappointment over the growing reliance on AI-generated reactions amongst students stating a current experience he had.

RelatedStories

Avoid sharing individual details that can determine you with AI tools- Expert alerts

Chinese AI app DeepSeek stimulates international tech selloff, difficulties U.S. AI supremacy

"I offered a project to my MBA students, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% submitted the precise very same answers. These trainees did not even understand each other, however they all used the very same AI tool to create their responses," he said.

He kept in mind that this pattern is prevalent among both undergraduate and postgraduate students however is especially worrying in part-time and distance knowing programs.

"AI is a serious difficulty when it pertains to projects. Many students no longer believe critically-they simply browse the web, produce answers, and submit," he added.

Surprisingly, some speakers are also implicated of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both teachers and students turn to AI for convenience instead of intellectual rigor.

This debate raises vital questions about the role of AI in academic integrity and trainee development.

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

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

Decline of academic rigor

University lecturers are increasingly worried about students submitting AI-generated assignments without really comprehending the content.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his issues to Nairametrics about students significantly counting on ChatGPT, just to have problem with addressing fundamental concerns when evaluated.

"Many students copy from ChatGPT and submit sleek projects, but when asked standard concerns, they go blank. It's disappointing since education is about learning, not just passing courses," he said.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu explained that the increasing number of superior graduates can not be completely credited to AI but confessed that even high-performing students use these tools.
"A first-rate student is a superior trainee, AI or not, however that does not indicate they don't cheat. The benefits of AI might be peripheral, but it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he stated.

- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, trade-britanica.trade raised a different issue that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the exact same practice.
"It's not simply trainees using AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course details, marking schemes, 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 real learning," he lamented.

Students' point of views on usage

Students, on the other hand, say AI has actually improved their learning experience by making scholastic materials more understandable and accessible.

- Eniola Arowosafe, archmageriseswiki.com a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, classihub.in shared how AI has actually substantially aided her knowing by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI assisted me comprehend things more easily, particularly when dealing with complicated subjects," she discussed.

However, she recalled an instance when she used AI to submit her job, just for her lecturer to right away recognize that it was created by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad result.

- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently graduated with a superior degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, securely thinks that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his impressive grades to actively engaging by asking concerns and concentrating on locations that lecturers stress in class, as they are often shown in examination concerns.
"It's everything about being present, taking note, 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 deadlines.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have multiple deadlines, and I understand I'm guilty of that, most times the speakers don't get to read through them, but AI has also helped me learn faster."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts believe the option lies in 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 approach that preserves human involvement while utilizing AI to enhance discovering results.
"As we navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is essential that we prioritise human agency in education. We need to ensure that AI boosts, instead of changes, educators' essential role in shaping young minds," he stated

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity transformation expert, addressed growing concerns regarding using artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their possible risks to the system.

- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, however, stressed the requirement for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance among educators and schools towards including AI tools in learning environments. She identified two main reasons AI tools are dissuaded in educational settings: security threats and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based on user interactions, which may not align with the expectations of teachers.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, explaining that AI does not accommodate specific mentor techniques.

Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing data, typically without correct attribution

"A great deal of people require to comprehend, like I said, this is information that has actually been trained on. It is not simply bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing info that some other individuals are fed into it, which in essence suggests that is another person's documents," she cautioned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI advancement known as "hallucination," where AI tools would create information that was not accurate.
"Hallucination meant that it was highlighting information 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 avoid such errors.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the service, especially when AI provides a chance to leapfrog standard educational methods.

- She believes that consistently enhancing crucial information helps people keep in mind and avoid making errors when faced with obstacles.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform individuals the same thing over and over again, when they are about to make the mistakes, then they'll remember."

She likewise empasized the requirement for clear policies and procedures within schools, keeping in mind that numerous schools need to deal with the individuals and process aspects of this use.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually resorted to in-class tasks and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I mainly utilize assignments to make sure students offer initial work." However, he acknowledged that managing big classes makes this technique challenging.

"If you set intricate concerns, trainees won't be able to utilize AI to get direct answers," he described.

He stressed the requirement for universities to train speakers on crafting exam concerns that AI can not easily fix while acknowledging that some lecturers struggle to counter AI misuse due to an absence 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 personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the policy of AI in education, advising organizations to examine algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they meet ethical standards, protect user information, opentx.cz and engel-und-waisen.de filter inappropriate material.
- It stresses the need to assess the long-lasting impact of AI on important skills like believing and imagination while producing policies that line up with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO recommends implementing age limitations for GenAI use to safeguard more youthful students and secure susceptible groups.
- For federal governments, it encouraged adopting a coordinated nationwide technique to managing GenAI, consisting of developing oversight bodies and lining up regulations with existing information protection and personal privacy laws. It emphasizes assessing AI dangers, enforcing stricter rules for high-risk applications, and ensuring national information ownership.