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

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for enhancing their learning experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing dependence on AI, classihub.in which they argue fosters laziness and weakens academic integrity, especially with numerous trainees not able to protect their assignments or given works.

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

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

He kept in mind that this trend prevails amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate students however is particularly worrying in part-time and range learning programs.

"AI is a serious challenge when it pertains to assignments. Many trainees no longer think critically-they simply go online, generate answers, and send," he included.

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

This dispute raises critical concerns about the function of AI in academic integrity and student advancement.

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

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

Decline of academic rigor

University speakers are significantly worried about students sending AI-generated assignments without genuinely comprehending the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his concerns to Nairametrics about students increasingly relying on ChatGPT, wiki.dulovic.tech just to fight with answering standard questions when tested.

"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send polished projects, but when asked fundamental concerns, they go blank. It's frustrating since education has to do with discovering, not simply passing courses," he said.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of superior graduates can not be entirely attributed to AI but confessed that even high-performing students use these tools.
"A first-rate trainee is a superior student, AI or not, but that doesn't indicate they don't cheat. The advantages of AI might be peripheral, however it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he said.

- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different issue that some speakers themselves are guilty of the same practice.
"It's not just students utilizing AI lazily. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course outlines, marking plans, and even test questions with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn use AI to create answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real learning," he regreted.

Students' perspectives on usage

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

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has actually substantially assisted her knowing by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI assisted me understand things more quickly, especially when dealing with intricate topics," she discussed.

However, she recalled a circumstances when she used AI to send her task, only for her lecturer to instantly acknowledge that it was produced by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad impact.

- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently finished with a first-rate degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, securely thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his outstanding grades to actively interesting by asking questions and focusing on areas that lecturers stress in class, as they are typically reflected in examination questions.
"It's all about being present, focusing, and tapping into the wealth of understanding shared by my coworkers," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to sometimes copying straight from ChatGPT when dealing with numerous due dates.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have numerous 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 learn quicker."

Balancing AI's role in education

Experts think the option depends on AI literacy; teaching students and lecturers how to utilize AI as a knowing 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 technique that preserves human participation while utilizing AI to enhance learning results.
"As we browse the quickly developing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is important that we prioritise human firm in education. We need to ensure that AI enhances, instead of replaces, teachers' important role in shaping young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement professional, addressed growing issues relating to making use of synthetic intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their possible threats to the educational system.

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, nevertheless, emphasized the need for caution in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance among educators and schools toward integrating AI tools in finding out environments. She determined two primary reasons that AI tools are dissuaded in educational settings: security threats and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based on user interactions, which may not line up with the expectations of educators.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, describing that AI doesn't deal with particular mentor techniques.

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

"A lot of individuals require to understand, like I said, this is data that has been trained on. It is not simply bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing info that some other people are fed into it, which in essence indicates that is another individual's documents," she cautioned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI advancement referred to as "hallucination," where AI tools would generate info that was not factual.
"Hallucination meant that it was highlighting information from the air. If ChatGPT might not get that information from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.

She advised "grounding" AI by offering it with particular information to prevent 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 standard approaches.

- She thinks that regularly enhancing key info assists people keep in mind and prevent making mistakes when faced with obstacles.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform people the same thing over and over again, when they will make the mistakes, then they'll keep in mind."

She also empasized the need for clear policies and treatments within schools, prawattasao.awardspace.info noting that lots of schools ought to address the individuals and process elements of this usage.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has resorted to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I mainly utilize projects to make sure students supply initial work." However, he acknowledged that managing large classes makes this approach challenging.

"If you set complex questions, trainees will not have the ability to use AI to get direct answers," he described.

He highlighted the requirement for universities to train lecturers on crafting exam concerns that AI can not easily fix while acknowledging that some lecturers struggle to counter AI misuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he stated.

- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI advancement with fairness, transparency, responsibility, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the regulation of AI in education, advising organizations to audit algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they meet ethical standards, safeguard user information, and filter unsuitable material.
- It stresses the need to examine the long-term effect of AI on crucial abilities like thinking and imagination while developing policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO advises implementing age constraints for GenAI use to secure more youthful trainees and safeguard susceptible groups.
- For governments, bphomesteading.com it encouraged adopting a collaborated nationwide approach to managing GenAI, consisting of developing oversight bodies and aligning regulations with existing data protection and personal privacy laws. It emphasizes assessing AI threats, enforcing stricter guidelines for high-risk applications, and making sure nationwide data ownership.