Expert System (AI) is transforming education while making finding out more available however also stimulating arguments on its impact.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their knowing experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines academic stability, especially 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 reliance on AI-generated reactions among trainees stating a current experience he had.

RelatedStories

Avoid sharing personal information that can recognize you with AI tools- Expert warns

Chinese AI app DeepSeek triggers international tech selloff, classihub.in obstacles U.S. AI supremacy

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

He noted that this pattern is widespread amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate students however is specifically worrying in part-time and range knowing programs.

"AI is a serious obstacle when it pertains to tasks. Many students no longer think critically-they just browse the web, produce responses, and send," he included.

Surprisingly, some lecturers are also accused 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 important concerns about the function of AI in scholastic stability and trainee advancement.

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

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

Decline of academic rigor

University lecturers are progressively concerned about trainees submitting AI-generated assignments without genuinely understanding the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his concerns to Nairametrics about students increasingly counting on ChatGPT, just to deal with answering standard questions when evaluated.

"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send polished tasks, however when asked standard questions, they go blank. It's disappointing since education has to do with learning, not simply passing courses," he stated.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of superior graduates can not be completely credited to AI however admitted that even high-performing trainees use these tools.
"A first-rate student is a superior trainee, AI or not, however that does not imply they don't cheat. The advantages of AI might be peripheral, however it is making trainees dependent and less analytical," he stated.

- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various issue that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the same practice.
"It's not simply trainees using AI lazily. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, create lesson notes, course outlines, marking schemes, and even test questions with AI without examining them. Students in turn use AI to generate responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing real learning," he regreted.

point of views on usage

Students, on the other hand, state AI has actually enhanced their learning experience by making academic materials more understandable and available.

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has substantially helped her knowing by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI assisted me understand things more easily, specifically when handling complicated topics," she explained.

However, she recalled a circumstances when she used AI to submit her job, only for her lecturer to right away acknowledge that it was created by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad result.

- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently finished with a first-class 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 appealing by asking questions and focusing on locations that lecturers emphasize in class, as they are frequently reflected in exam questions.
"It's everything about being present, taking note, and using the wealth of knowledge shared by my associates," he stated,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to periodically copying directly from ChatGPT when facing multiple due dates.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have several due dates, and I know I'm guilty of that, many times the speakers don't get to review them, but AI has also assisted me discover much faster."

Balancing AI's role in education

Experts believe the service lies in AI literacy; mentor students and lecturers how to utilize AI as a knowing aid rather than a shortcut.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the importance of a balanced technique that keeps human involvement while utilizing AI to improve learning results.
"As we navigate the quickly evolving landscape of Expert system (AI), it is important that we prioritise human agency in education. We should ensure that AI improves, rather than replaces, teachers' crucial role in forming young minds," he stated

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity change specialist, attended to growing concerns regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their potential dangers to the educational system.

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, however, stressed the requirement for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance amongst teachers and schools towards integrating AI tools in learning environments. She determined 2 main reasons that AI tools are dissuaded in instructional settings: security threats and plagiarism. She explained that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based upon user interactions, which might not align with the expectations of teachers.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, describing that AI does not cater to specific mentor techniques.

Plagiarism is another concern, users.atw.hu as AI pulls from existing information, frequently without appropriate attribution

"A lot of individuals require to comprehend, like I said, this is information that has 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 suggests that is another person's documentation," she cautioned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI development understood as "hallucination," where AI tools would create information that was not accurate.
"Hallucination implied that it was drawing out info from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that info from you, it was going to make one up," she explained.

She recommended "grounding" AI by providing it with specific details to avoid such mistakes.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the solution, especially when AI presents a chance to leapfrog standard instructional approaches.

- She thinks that consistently reinforcing key information helps individuals remember and prevent making errors when faced with difficulties.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell individuals the exact same thing over and over again, when they will make the errors, then they'll keep in mind."

She also empasized the requirement for clear policies and treatments within schools, noting that numerous schools should deal with the individuals and process aspects of this use.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually turned to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I mainly utilize projects to guarantee trainees provide original work." However, he acknowledged that handling big classes makes this approach hard.

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

He highlighted the need for universities to train lecturers on crafting test concerns that AI can not easily resolve while acknowledging that some speakers 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 advancement with fairness, openness, responsibility, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the guideline of AI in education, encouraging institutions to examine algorithms, information, wiki.fablabbcn.org and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they satisfy ethical standards, bphomesteading.com secure user information, koha-community.cz and filter improper content.
- It worries the requirement to examine the long-term effect of AI on vital skills like thinking and imagination while developing policies that line up with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO suggests implementing age constraints for GenAI use to safeguard younger trainees and protect susceptible groups.
- For federal governments, bphomesteading.com it recommended embracing a collaborated national approach to regulating GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and lining up guidelines with existing information defense and privacy laws. It stresses assessing AI risks, implementing stricter guidelines for high-risk applications, and ensuring national data ownership.