Expert System (AI) is transforming education while making learning more accessible however likewise sparking arguments on its impact.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their learning experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens academic integrity, specifically with lots of trainees not able to their tasks or given works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a speaker at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed frustration over the growing reliance on AI-generated responses among students stating a current experience he had.

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

He kept in mind that this pattern is prevalent amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is specifically concerning in part-time and range learning programs.

"AI is a serious challenge when it pertains to assignments. Many students no longer believe critically-they simply go online, create responses, and send," he included.

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

This debate raises important concerns about the role of AI in scholastic integrity and student development.

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

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

Decline of academic rigor

University speakers are significantly worried about trainees sending AI-generated assignments without truly understanding the content.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, wifidb.science expressed his issues to Nairametrics about trainees significantly relying on ChatGPT, just to battle with addressing standard questions when evaluated.

"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send sleek projects, but when asked basic questions, they go blank. It's frustrating because education has to do with learning, not simply passing courses," he said.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of superior graduates can not be entirely credited to AI but confessed that even high-performing students use these tools.
"A first-rate trainee is a first-rate student, AI or not, but that doesn't imply they do not cheat. The benefits of AI may be peripheral, but it is making trainees dependent and less analytical," he stated.

- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various concern that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the exact same practice.
"It's not simply students utilizing AI lazily. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, create lesson notes, course lays out, marking plans, and even test concerns with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn use AI to produce responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating genuine knowing," he regreted.

Students' point of views on use

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

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has significantly aided her learning by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of lengthy texts.
"AI helped me understand things more easily, particularly when dealing with complex topics," she explained.

However, she recalled an instance when she used AI to send her project, just for her speaker to instantly recognize that it was created by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad effect.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently finished with a superior degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, firmly thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his exceptional grades to actively engaging by asking questions and concentrating on locations that speakers highlight in class, as they are often reflected in examination concerns.
"It's all about being present, paying attention, and tapping into the wealth of knowledge shared by my colleagues," he stated,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to sometimes copying straight from ChatGPT when facing numerous due dates.
"To be honest, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have multiple deadlines, and I know I'm guilty of that, the majority of times the lecturers don't get to review them, however AI has actually also assisted me learn much faster."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts believe the option lies in AI literacy; mentor students and lecturers how to use AI as a learning help rather than a faster way.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the importance of a balanced technique that maintains human involvement while harnessing AI to improve discovering results.
"As we navigate the rapidly progressing landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is vital that we prioritise human company in education. We need to ensure that AI improves, instead of changes, teachers' important function in shaping young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement professional, addressed growing concerns regarding making use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective risks to the educational system.

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, nevertheless, highlighted the requirement for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among educators and schools toward including AI tools in discovering environments. She recognized 2 main factors why AI tools are prevented in academic settings: security dangers and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react 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 said, explaining that AI doesn't accommodate specific teaching approaches.

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

"A great deal of people need to comprehend, like I stated, this is information that has actually been trained on. It is not simply 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 person's documents," she warned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI advancement called "hallucination," where AI tools would produce details that was not accurate.
"Hallucination meant that it was bringing out details from the air. If ChatGPT might not get that information from you, it was going to make one up," she described.

She advised "grounding" AI by offering it with particular info to avoid such mistakes.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the service, especially when AI provides a chance to leapfrog traditional instructional techniques.

- She thinks that consistently enhancing key info assists people remember and avoid making mistakes when confronted with challenges.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform people the same thing over and over once again, when they are about to make the errors, then they'll remember."

She likewise empasized the need for clear policies and treatments within schools, noting that lots of schools must deal with the individuals and procedure aspects of this use.

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

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

He emphasized the need for universities to train lecturers on crafting examination questions that AI can not easily resolve while acknowledging that some lecturers battle to counter AI misuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he stated.

- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI development with fairness, transparency, responsibility, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the regulation of AI in education, advising organizations to audit algorithms, users.atw.hu information, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they fulfill ethical standards, secure user data, and filter inappropriate material.
- It worries the need to evaluate the long-lasting effect of AI on important skills like thinking and creativity while developing policies that line up with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO advises executing age constraints for GenAI use to protect more youthful trainees and protect susceptible groups.
- For federal governments, it encouraged embracing a collaborated nationwide technique to regulating GenAI, consisting of developing oversight bodies and aligning regulations with existing information protection and personal privacy laws. It emphasizes assessing AI dangers, imposing more stringent rules for high-risk applications, and ensuring national data ownership.