Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing education while making discovering more accessible however likewise triggering debates on its effect.

While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their knowing experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic stability, particularly with many students unable to defend their projects or given works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, forum.batman.gainedge.org in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed aggravation over the growing reliance on AI-generated responses amongst students stating a recent experience he had.

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"I provided a project to my MBA students, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% sent the specific very same responses. These trainees did not even understand each other, however they all utilized the very same AI tool to produce their reactions," he said.

He noted that this trend is prevalent amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is specifically worrying in part-time and distance learning programs.

"AI is a severe obstacle when it concerns projects. Many students no longer think critically-they simply go on the internet, create responses, and send," he included.

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

This argument raises critical concerns about the function of AI in academic stability and student development.

According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million month-to-month active users in January 2023, only one country had actually released policies on generative AI since July 2023.

Since December 2024, ChatGPT had over 300 million individuals using the AI chatbot each week and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the globe.

Decline of academic rigor

University lecturers are significantly worried about students submitting AI-generated assignments without truly understanding the content.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his issues to Nairametrics about trainees significantly depending on ChatGPT, only to deal with responding to fundamental concerns when checked.

"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send sleek tasks, but when asked basic concerns, they go blank. It's disappointing due to the fact that education is about finding out, not simply passing courses," he stated.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu mentioned that the increasing variety of first-rate graduates can not be entirely credited to AI however admitted that even high-performing students utilize these tools.
"A first-class trainee is a top-notch trainee, AI or not, but that doesn't indicate they do not cheat. The advantages of AI might be peripheral, but it is making students dependent and less analytical," he said.

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

Students' point of views on use

Students, on the other hand, dokuwiki.stream say AI has enhanced their learning experience by making academic products more understandable and available.

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

However, she remembered an when she used AI to submit her job, just for her speaker to immediately acknowledge that it was generated by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad effect.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently finished with a superior degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, oke.zone firmly believes that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his outstanding grades to actively appealing by asking concerns and concentrating on areas that speakers stress in class, as they are typically reflected in examination questions.
"It's all about being present, paying attention, and using the wealth of knowledge shared by my colleagues," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, confesses to occasionally copying directly from ChatGPT when dealing with several deadlines.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have several due dates, and I understand I'm guilty of that, most times the speakers do not get to review them, however AI has actually also assisted me discover quicker."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts think the service depends on AI literacy; mentor students and lecturers how to use AI as a learning aid rather than a shortcut.

- Minister of Education, greyhawkonline.com Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the value of a well balanced technique that keeps human involvement while harnessing AI to improve finding out outcomes.
"As we browse the quickly developing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is essential that we prioritise human company in education. We should ensure that AI enhances, instead of replaces, educators' vital role in forming young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, wifidb.science a cybersecurity transformation specialist, resolved growing issues regarding the use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their potential dangers to the educational system.

- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, however, stressed the need for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among teachers and schools toward incorporating AI tools in discovering environments. She determined two primary reasons why AI tools are discouraged in instructional settings: asteroidsathome.net security risks 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 taking a look at it as a tutor," Akintade said, explaining that AI does not deal with specific mentor techniques.

Plagiarism is another issue, as AI pulls from existing information, often without correct attribution

"A great deal of people need to understand, like I stated, 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 means that is another individual's documentation," she warned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI development known as "hallucination," where AI tools would create details that was not factual.
"Hallucination implied that it was bringing out info from the air. If ChatGPT might not get that info from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.

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

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the option, especially when AI provides an opportunity to leapfrog conventional educational approaches.

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

She likewise empasized the requirement for clear policies and treatments within schools, noting that lots of schools must attend to the individuals and process elements of this usage.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has resorted to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I generally use tasks to guarantee students offer initial work." However, he acknowledged that handling big classes makes this technique challenging.

"If you set intricate questions, trainees will not be able to utilize AI to get direct responses," he discussed.

He highlighted the requirement for universities to train speakers on crafting examination questions that AI can not easily resolve 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, responsibility, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the guideline of AI in education, encouraging organizations to audit algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they meet ethical standards, wiki.dulovic.tech secure user data, and filter unsuitable material.
- It stresses the need to assess the long-lasting impact of AI on important abilities like thinking and creativity while producing policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO suggests carrying out age limitations for GenAI usage to safeguard more youthful trainees and protect susceptible groups.
- For governments, it recommended adopting a coordinated national method to managing GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and lining up guidelines with existing data protection and privacy laws. It stresses examining AI threats, imposing stricter guidelines for high-risk applications, and ensuring national information ownership.