Expert System (AI) is changing education while making finding out more accessible but likewise stimulating debates on its effect.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their knowing experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic integrity, specifically with lots of trainees unable to safeguard their projects or provided works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed aggravation over the growing dependence on AI-generated responses among trainees recounting a recent experience he had.

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"I offered an assignment to my MBA students, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% submitted the precise same responses. These trainees did not even understand each other, but they all utilized the very same AI tool to generate their actions," he said.

He kept in mind that this pattern prevails among both undergraduate and postgraduate students but is especially concerning in part-time and distance knowing programs.

"AI is a serious difficulty when it comes to assignments. Many students no longer think critically-they simply browse the web, create responses, and send," he added.

Surprisingly, some speakers are likewise implicated 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 vital concerns about the role of AI in scholastic integrity and student development.

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

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

Decline of academic rigor

University speakers are significantly worried about trainees sending AI-generated projects without really understanding the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his concerns to Nairametrics about trainees significantly relying on ChatGPT, only to have problem with answering standard questions when evaluated.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit sleek tasks, but when asked basic questions, they go blank. It's frustrating 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 entirely associated to AI but confessed that even high-performing students utilize these tools.
"A superior trainee is a first-class student, AI or not, however that doesn't imply they don't cheat. The benefits of AI might be peripheral, however it is making trainees dependent and less analytical," he said.

- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various issue that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the very same practice.
"It's not simply trainees utilizing AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course outlines, marking plans, and even exam concerns with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn use AI to generate answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing genuine learning," he lamented.

Students' point of views on usage

Students, on the other hand, say AI has improved their learning experience by making academic materials more easy to understand and available.

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

However, she remembered a circumstances when she utilized AI to submit her project, just for setiathome.berkeley.edu her lecturer to instantly acknowledge that it was created by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad effect.

- Bryan Okwuba, annunciogratis.net who recently with a first-class degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly thinks that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his impressive grades to actively engaging by asking concerns and focusing on areas that speakers stress in class, as they are often shown in test concerns.
"It's everything about existing, paying attention, and taking advantage of the wealth of understanding shared by my colleagues," he stated,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, confesses to sometimes copying directly from ChatGPT when facing numerous deadlines.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have numerous due dates, and I understand I'm guilty of that, the majority of times the lecturers don't get to go through them, however AI has likewise assisted me find out quicker."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts think the option lies in AI literacy; teaching trainees and lecturers how to use AI as a knowing aid rather than a faster way.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the importance of a balanced technique that keeps human participation while utilizing AI to enhance learning outcomes.
"As we browse the rapidly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is essential that we prioritise human firm in education. We must ensure that AI improves, instead of changes, teachers' vital function in forming young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity transformation professional, resolved growing issues concerning the usage of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their potential threats to the educational system.

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, nevertheless, emphasized the need for care in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance among educators and schools toward including AI tools in discovering environments. She identified 2 main reasons 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 may not line up with the expectations of teachers.
"It is not taking a look at it as a tutor," Akintade stated, discussing that AI does not cater to specific mentor approaches.

Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing data, often without proper attribution

"A great deal of individuals require to comprehend, like I stated, this is data that has been trained on. It is not just 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 individual's documentation," she cautioned.

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

She suggested "grounding" AI by offering it with specific info to prevent such mistakes.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the solution, especially when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog traditional instructional techniques.

- She thinks that consistently enhancing essential info helps people remember and prevent making errors when faced with obstacles.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform individuals 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 many schools ought to resolve the individuals and procedure elements of this usage.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually turned to in-class tasks and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I primarily use tasks to guarantee trainees provide original work." However, he acknowledged that handling large classes makes this approach tough.

"If you set intricate concerns, students won't have the ability to utilize AI to get direct responses," he explained.

He stressed the requirement for universities to train lecturers on crafting examination concerns that AI can not quickly solve while acknowledging that some lecturers struggle to counter AI misuse due to an absence of technological awareness. "Some speakers are analogue," he said.

- Nigeria released a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, focusing on ethical AI advancement with fairness, openness, responsibility, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the regulation of AI in education, encouraging organizations to examine algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they satisfy ethical standards, safeguard user information, and filter improper material.
- It worries the need to evaluate the long-lasting impact of AI on important skills like thinking and imagination while developing policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO recommends carrying out age limitations for GenAI usage to secure more youthful trainees and protect susceptible groups.
- For governments, it advised adopting a collaborated nationwide technique to managing GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and lining up policies with existing information defense and personal privacy laws. It stresses evaluating AI threats, implementing more stringent rules for high-risk applications, and ensuring national data ownership.