Expert System (AI) is revolutionizing education while making discovering more available however likewise stimulating arguments on its impact.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their knowing experience, lecturers are raising concerns about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens scholastic stability, especially with many students unable to protect their assignments or provided works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed disappointment over the growing reliance on AI-generated actions among trainees recounting a current experience he had.

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"I provided an assignment to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% submitted the exact very same responses. These trainees did not even understand each other, but they all utilized the very same AI tool to produce their responses," he stated.

He noted that this pattern prevails amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate students but is specifically worrying in part-time and distance learning programs.

"AI is a serious difficulty when it pertains to tasks. Many students no longer think critically-they just go on the internet, generate responses, and submit," he included.

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

This debate raises critical concerns about the role of AI in scholastic integrity and student advancement.

According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million regular monthly active users in January 2023, just one nation had actually launched regulations on generative AI since July 2023.

As of December 2024, ChatGPT had over 300 million individuals using the AI chatbot weekly and genbecle.com 1 billion messages sent every day all over the world.

Decline of academic rigor

University lecturers are increasingly concerned about trainees submitting AI-generated tasks without genuinely understanding the content.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his issues to Nairametrics about counting on ChatGPT, only to fight with responding to fundamental questions when evaluated.

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

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

- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different concern that some speakers themselves are guilty of the same practice.
"It's not just trainees using AI lazily. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course outlines, marking plans, and even test concerns with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn utilize AI to produce answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real learning," he lamented.

Students' viewpoints on use

Students, on the other hand, say AI has enhanced their learning experience by making scholastic products more reasonable and accessible.

- 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 lengthy texts.
"AI helped me understand things more easily, especially when dealing with complicated topics," she explained.

However, she recalled an instance when she used AI to submit her task, just for her speaker to right away recognize that it was produced by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad result.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently graduated with a superior degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, firmly believes that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively interesting by asking concerns and concentrating on areas that lecturers stress in class, as they are frequently reflected in test questions.
"It's all about existing, taking note, and tapping into the wealth of knowledge shared by my associates," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, confesses to sometimes copying straight from ChatGPT when facing several deadlines.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have multiple due dates, and I know I'm guilty of that, a lot of times the lecturers don't get to go through them, but AI has also assisted me learn faster."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts think the option depends on AI literacy; teaching trainees and speakers how to utilize AI as a knowing help instead of a shortcut.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the importance of a well balanced method that maintains human involvement while harnessing AI to enhance discovering outcomes.
"As we browse the rapidly progressing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is crucial that we prioritise human company in education. We need to make sure that AI improves, instead of replaces, teachers' vital function in forming young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

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

- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, however, stressed the requirement for caution in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance amongst teachers and schools towards incorporating AI tools in discovering environments. She identified two main factors why AI tools are prevented in instructional settings: security risks and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based upon user interactions, which may not align with the expectations of educators.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade stated, explaining that AI doesn't accommodate particular teaching approaches.

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

"A lot of people require 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 details that some other individuals are fed into it, which in essence means that is another person's paperwork," she warned.

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

She advised "grounding" AI by offering it with particular details to prevent such mistakes.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the option, especially when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog standard academic methods.

- She believes that consistently reinforcing key info assists individuals keep in mind and prevent making errors when confronted with obstacles.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell people 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 many schools need to attend to individuals and process elements of this use.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has resorted to in-class projects and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I mainly use projects to ensure students offer initial work." However, he acknowledged that handling large classes makes this approach tough.

"If you set complex questions, trainees won't have the ability to utilize AI to get direct answers," he described.

He stressed the need for universities to train speakers on crafting examination concerns that AI can not quickly fix while acknowledging that some speakers battle to counter AI misuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some speakers are analogue," he stated.

- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI development with fairness, openness, accountability, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the regulation of AI in education, encouraging organizations to investigate algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they fulfill ethical requirements, secure user information, and filter inappropriate material.
- It stresses the need to examine the long-term impact of AI on critical abilities like believing and creativity while developing policies that align with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO suggests executing age restrictions for GenAI use to protect younger students and protect vulnerable groups.
- For governments, it advised adopting a coordinated national technique to managing GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and lining up guidelines with existing information security and privacy laws. It stresses evaluating AI dangers, implementing stricter rules for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing nationwide information ownership.