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

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their learning experience, kenpoguy.com speakers are raising concerns about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic integrity, especially with numerous students unable to protect their projects or offered works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a speaker at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed disappointment over the growing reliance on AI-generated responses amongst trainees recounting a recent experience he had.

RelatedStories

Avoid sharing personal info that can recognize you with AI tools- Expert alerts

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

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

He noted that this trend prevails amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate students however is especially worrying in part-time and distance learning programs.

"AI is a serious challenge when it concerns projects. Many trainees no longer think critically-they just go online, generate answers, and submit," he included.

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

This debate raises critical questions about the function of AI in academic integrity and trainee development.

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

Since December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million people utilizing the AI chatbot weekly and 1 billion messages sent every day all over the world.

Decline of academic rigor

University speakers are progressively worried about students sending AI-generated projects without truly understanding the content.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his concerns to Nairametrics about trainees increasingly relying on ChatGPT, wiki.monnaie-libre.fr just to struggle with addressing basic concerns when checked.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and send sleek assignments, however when asked fundamental concerns, they go blank. It's frustrating since education is about learning, not simply passing courses," he stated.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu explained that the increasing number of first-class graduates can not be totally associated to AI however confessed that even high-performing trainees use these tools.


"A top-notch student is a first-class student, AI or not, but that doesn't suggest they don't cheat. The advantages of AI may be peripheral, however it is making students dependent 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 exact same practice.


"It's not simply trainees utilizing AI lazily. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, create lesson notes, course outlines, marking schemes, and even examination concerns with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn use AI to produce answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing real knowing," he lamented.

Students' perspectives on usage

Students, on the other hand, bphomesteading.com say AI has improved their learning experience by making scholastic materials more understandable and available.

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has actually significantly aided her learning by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of prolonged texts.


"AI assisted me comprehend things more easily, specifically when handling intricate topics," she described.

However, she remembered an instance when she utilized AI to send her project, just for her lecturer to right away recognize that it was created by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola kept in mind 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, firmly thinks that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his outstanding grades to actively appealing by asking questions and concentrating on locations that lecturers emphasize in class, as they are frequently reflected in examination concerns.


"It's all about existing, paying attention, and taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge shared by my associates," he stated,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, confesses to sometimes copying straight from ChatGPT when facing multiple deadlines.


"To be honest, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have several deadlines, and I understand I'm guilty of that, many times the lecturers do not get to read through them, but AI has also assisted me discover much faster."

Balancing AI's role in education

Experts think the solution depends on 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 combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the importance of a balanced method that maintains human participation while utilizing AI to enhance learning outcomes.


"As we browse the rapidly evolving landscape of Expert system (AI), it is important that we prioritise human agency in education. We need to guarantee that AI enhances, rather than changes, educators' vital role in shaping young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement professional, attended to growing issues relating to the usage of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their potential risks to the instructional system.

- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, nevertheless, highlighted the requirement for care in its usage.

- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance among educators and schools toward integrating AI tools in finding out environments. She determined 2 main factors why AI tools are discouraged in educational settings: security threats and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based upon user interactions, which may not align with the expectations of teachers.


"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, discussing that AI doesn't cater to specific mentor methods.

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

"A great deal of people require to understand, like I said, this is data that has 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 means that is another individual's documentation," she warned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI development known as "hallucination," where AI tools would create info that was not factual.


"Hallucination meant that it was bringing out info from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that info from you, it was going to make one up," she explained.

She advised "grounding" AI by providing it with particular details to avoid such errors.

Navigating AI in Education

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

- She thinks that consistently enhancing crucial info assists individuals keep in mind and avoid making mistakes when faced with challenges.


"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell people the same thing over and over again, when they will make the errors, then they'll remember."

She also empasized the need for clear policies and procedures within schools, noting that lots of schools need to attend to the individuals and process aspects of this use.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has turned to in-class projects and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.


"Now, I generally utilize projects to make sure trainees provide initial work." However, he acknowledged that managing big classes makes this method difficult.

"If you set complicated concerns, students will not be able to use AI to get direct answers," he discussed.

He highlighted the need for universities to train speakers on crafting examination questions that AI can not easily fix while acknowledging that some lecturers struggle to counter AI misuse due to an absence of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he stated.

- 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 requires the guideline of AI in education, recommending institutions to examine algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they satisfy ethical standards, protect user information, and filter inappropriate content.

- It stresses the requirement to evaluate the long-lasting impact of AI on critical skills like believing and imagination while creating policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO suggests implementing age constraints for GenAI usage to secure younger students and safeguard susceptible groups.
- For federal governments, it advised adopting a collaborated nationwide approach to controling GenAI, consisting of establishing oversight bodies and lining up guidelines with existing information protection and personal privacy laws. It emphasizes evaluating AI threats, imposing stricter rules for high-risk applications, and ensuring national data ownership.