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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reinventing education while making finding out more available however likewise sparking debates on its impact.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their knowing experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens scholastic integrity, particularly with many trainees not able to defend 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 students stating a recent experience he had.

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"I offered a project to my MBA students, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% sent the specific same answers. These students did not even understand each other, but they all used the exact same AI tool to generate their responses," he said.

He noted that this pattern prevails among both undergraduate and postgraduate students but is particularly concerning in part-time and distance knowing programs.

"AI is a severe challenge when it comes to assignments. Many students no longer believe critically-they simply browse the web, produce responses, and submit," he included.

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

This debate raises vital questions about the role of AI in scholastic integrity and student advancement.

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

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

Decline of scholastic rigor

University lecturers are increasingly concerned about students sending AI-generated tasks without really understanding the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his concerns to Nairametrics about trainees progressively counting on ChatGPT, only to have problem with responding to fundamental questions when evaluated.

"Many students copy from ChatGPT and submit refined assignments, however when asked basic questions, they go blank. It's disappointing since education is about discovering, not just passing courses," he stated.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu mentioned that the increasing variety of first-rate graduates can not be completely credited to AI however admitted that even high-performing students use these tools.
"A top-notch student is a first-class student, AI or not, however that doesn't suggest they do not cheat. The advantages 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 issue that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the very same practice.
"It's not just trainees utilizing AI slackly. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course describes, marking plans, and even exam concerns with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn use AI to produce answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating genuine learning," he regreted.

Students' perspectives on use

Students, on the other hand, photorum.eclat-mauve.fr say AI has enhanced their knowing experience by making academic products more reasonable and accessible.

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has significantly assisted her knowing by breaking down complex terms and trade-britanica.trade supplying summaries of lengthy texts.
"AI assisted me comprehend things more easily, particularly when dealing with intricate topics," she discussed.

However, she remembered a circumstances when she utilized AI to submit her task, only for her speaker to instantly recognize that it was produced by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad effect.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently finished with a top-notch degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly thinks that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his outstanding grades to actively engaging by asking concerns and concentrating on areas that lecturers highlight in class, as they are typically shown in examination concerns.
"It's all about being present, paying attention, and tapping into the wealth of understanding shared by my associates," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, confesses 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 go through them, but AI has also assisted me learn quicker."

Balancing AI's role in education

Experts believe the solution lies in AI literacy; mentor trainees and speakers how to utilize AI as a knowing aid rather than a faster way.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the value of a balanced technique that keeps human involvement while utilizing AI to enhance finding out outcomes.
"As we navigate the quickly progressing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is important that we prioritise human company in education. We need to make sure that AI improves, rather than replaces, teachers' crucial role in forming young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

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

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, nevertheless, emphasized the need for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance amongst teachers and schools toward integrating AI tools in discovering environments. She determined two main reasons AI tools are dissuaded in instructional settings: security risks and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based on user interactions, which might not align with the expectations of teachers.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, discussing that AI does not deal with specific mentor techniques.

Plagiarism is another problem, as AI pulls from existing information, frequently without correct attribution

"A lot of individuals need to comprehend, like I said, this is information that has actually been trained on. It is not just 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 individual's documents," she cautioned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI development referred to as "hallucination," where AI tools would create details that was not accurate.
"Hallucination indicated 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 explained.

She recommended "grounding" AI by supplying it with particular information to avoid such errors.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the option, especially when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog standard academic methods.

- She thinks that regularly strengthening key details assists people keep in mind and avoid making mistakes when confronted with obstacles.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell individuals the same thing over and over once again, when they are about to make the errors, then they'll remember."

She also empasized the need for clear policies and treatments within schools, noting that many schools ought to address individuals and elements of this usage.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has resorted to in-class projects and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I mainly utilize assignments to guarantee trainees offer original work." However, he acknowledged that managing big classes makes this method difficult.

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

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

- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI development with fairness, openness, responsibility, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the policy of AI in education, advising organizations to audit algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they meet ethical requirements, protect user information, and filter improper material.
- It stresses the need to evaluate the long-term impact of AI on critical abilities like believing and creativity while developing policies that align with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO recommends executing age constraints for GenAI use to secure younger students and secure susceptible groups.
- For federal governments, it encouraged adopting a coordinated nationwide approach to managing GenAI, including establishing oversight bodies and aligning regulations with existing information defense and privacy laws. It highlights evaluating AI dangers, implementing stricter guidelines for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing nationwide data ownership.