Expert System (AI) is revolutionizing education while making finding out more accessible however likewise stimulating arguments on its impact.

While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their knowing experience, lecturers are raising concerns about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic integrity, particularly with lots of trainees not able to defend their projects or provided works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed frustration over the growing dependence on AI-generated reactions among students stating a current experience he had.

RelatedStories

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

Chinese AI app DeepSeek stimulates international tech selloff, challenges U.S. AI dominance

"I gave a task to my MBA students, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% sent the exact very same answers. These trainees did not even understand each other, but they all utilized the same AI tool to generate their actions," he stated.

He kept in mind that this pattern is common among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees but is specifically concerning in part-time and distance learning programs.

"AI is a severe challenge when it pertains to tasks. Many students no longer think critically-they simply browse the web, generate responses, and send," he included.

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

This dispute raises critical concerns 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, only one country had launched guidelines on generative AI as of July 2023.

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

Decline of academic rigor

University speakers are progressively worried about trainees sending AI-generated tasks without truly comprehending the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his issues to Nairametrics about students increasingly relying on ChatGPT, only to fight with answering fundamental questions when checked.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit sleek assignments, but when asked basic questions, they go blank. It's disappointing because education has to do with finding out, not just passing courses," he said.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu explained that the increasing number of top-notch graduates can not be entirely credited to AI however admitted that even high-performing students use these tools.
"A first-rate student is a first-class trainee, AI or not, however that does not mean they don't cheat. The advantages of AI may be peripheral, but it is making students dependent and less analytical," he stated.

- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various issue 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, create lesson notes, course lays out, marking schemes, and even examination concerns with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn use AI to produce responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing real learning," he lamented.

Students' perspectives on use

Students, on the other hand, say AI has actually enhanced their knowing experience by making scholastic products more reasonable and accessible.

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

However, she remembered an instance when she used AI to submit her task, just for her lecturer to right away recognize that it was created by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad impact.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently graduated with a first-class degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, yogaasanas.science securely believes that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively interesting by asking questions and concentrating on locations that lecturers stress in class, as they are typically reflected in exam concerns.
"It's everything about being present, focusing, and taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge shared by my coworkers," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, confesses to sometimes copying straight from ChatGPT when dealing with several due dates.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have multiple deadlines, and I know I'm guilty of that, a lot of times the lecturers do not get to review them, however AI has also assisted me find out quicker."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts think the service lies in AI literacy; mentor trainees and lecturers how to utilize AI as a learning aid 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 method that keeps human involvement while utilizing AI to improve finding out results.
"As we navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is essential that we prioritise human agency in education. We should ensure that AI boosts, rather than replaces, educators' crucial function in shaping young minds," he stated

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement expert, addressed growing issues concerning making use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their potential risks to the educational system.

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, nevertheless, stressed the need for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among educators and schools toward integrating AI tools in finding out environments. She identified two main reasons that AI tools are prevented in instructional settings: security dangers and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based upon 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 does not cater to specific teaching methods.

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

"A lot of people need to comprehend, like I said, this is data 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 paperwork," she cautioned.

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

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

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the solution, particularly when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog standard educational approaches.

- She thinks that regularly reinforcing key info helps individuals remember and prevent making mistakes when faced with difficulties.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell people the very same thing over and over again, when they are about to make the errors, then they'll keep in mind."

She also empasized the requirement for clear policies and treatments within schools, noting that lots of schools ought to deal with individuals and process elements of this use.

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

"If you set complicated questions, students will not have the ability to use AI to get direct answers," he discussed.

He highlighted the need for universities to train lecturers on crafting test questions that AI can not quickly fix while acknowledging that some speakers battle to counter AI misuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some speakers are analogue," he said.

- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, focusing on ethical AI advancement with fairness, openness, accountability, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the policy of AI in education, encouraging institutions to audit algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they fulfill ethical requirements, secure user information, and filter unsuitable material.
- It worries the need to examine the long-term impact of AI on critical abilities like thinking and creativity while that align with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO suggests carrying out age constraints for GenAI use to safeguard more youthful trainees and secure vulnerable groups.
- For governments, it recommended embracing a collaborated nationwide technique to controling GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and lining up policies with existing data security and privacy laws. It stresses evaluating AI dangers, imposing stricter guidelines for high-risk applications, and ensuring national data ownership.