Expert System (AI) is transforming education while making finding out more accessible but likewise triggering disputes on its impact.
While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for enhancing their learning experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic stability, particularly with many trainees not able to safeguard their tasks or given works.
Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed disappointment over the growing reliance on AI-generated actions among trainees stating a current experience he had.
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"I offered an assignment to my MBA students, and out of over 100 students, about 40% sent the specific same answers. These students did not even understand each other, but they all used the very same AI tool to create their responses," he said.
He kept in mind that this pattern prevails amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is particularly worrying in part-time and range knowing programs.
"AI is a severe obstacle when it pertains to projects. Many students no longer think critically-they simply browse the web, generate responses, and send," he included.
Surprisingly, some lecturers are also implicated of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and students turn to AI for benefit instead of intellectual rigor.
This debate raises important concerns about the function of AI in scholastic stability and student development.
According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in January 2023, only one country had actually released regulations on generative AI since July 2023.
Since December 2024, ChatGPT had over 300 million individuals utilizing the AI chatbot weekly and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the world.
Decline of scholastic rigor
University speakers are increasingly worried about trainees sending AI-generated tasks without truly comprehending the content.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his concerns to Nairametrics about students progressively depending on ChatGPT, only to have problem with responding to fundamental concerns when checked.
"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send polished projects, however when asked fundamental concerns, they go blank. It's frustrating due to the fact that education has to do with finding out, not just passing courses," he said.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of first-class graduates can not be completely attributed to AI however confessed that even high-performing trainees use these tools.
"A superior trainee is a top-notch trainee, AI or not, however that does not indicate they do not cheat. The benefits of AI may be peripheral, however it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he stated.
- 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 simply trainees utilizing AI lazily. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course lays out, marking plans, and even exam questions with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn use AI to generate responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real knowing," he regreted.
Students' perspectives on use
Students, on the other hand, state AI has actually enhanced their knowing 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 actually significantly assisted her learning by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI assisted me understand things more easily, especially when dealing with intricate topics," she discussed.
However, she recalled a circumstances when she used AI to submit her job, only for her speaker to immediately acknowledge that it was produced by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad impact.
- Bryan Okwuba, who recently graduated with a superior degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively engaging by asking concerns and focusing on areas that speakers stress in class, as they are often reflected in examination questions.
"It's all about existing, focusing, and using the wealth of understanding shared by my colleagues," he stated,
- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to occasionally copying directly from ChatGPT when facing several due dates.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have several due dates, and I understand I'm guilty of that, a lot of times the speakers don't get to review them, but AI has actually likewise helped me learn much faster."
Balancing AI's function in education
Experts believe the service depends on AI literacy; teaching trainees and lecturers how to utilize AI as a knowing help instead of a faster way.
- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the significance of a balanced approach that preserves human participation while utilizing AI to enhance learning outcomes.
"As we browse the rapidly progressing landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is important that we prioritise human company in education. We must ensure that AI boosts, instead of changes, educators' essential role in shaping young minds," he stated
Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement professional, addressed growing issues concerning making use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their possible threats to the educational system.
- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, nevertheless, stressed the requirement for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among educators and schools toward incorporating AI tools in learning environments. She recognized 2 primary reasons that AI tools are prevented in educational settings: security threats and plagiarism. She explained that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based upon user interactions, which may not align with the expectations of educators.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, discussing that AI doesn't accommodate particular teaching techniques.
Plagiarism is another problem, as AI pulls from existing information, often without appropriate attribution
"A lot of individuals need 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 details that some other people are fed into it, which in essence implies that is another person's documents," she warned.
- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI development understood as "hallucination," where AI tools would generate information that was not accurate.
"Hallucination suggested that it was bringing out info from the air. If ChatGPT might not get that details from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.
She advised "grounding" AI by supplying it with specific information to avoid such errors.
Navigating AI in Education
Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the option, particularly when AI provides an opportunity to leapfrog traditional educational approaches.
- She believes that consistently reinforcing essential details assists people remember and prevent making errors when faced with difficulties.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell people the very same thing over and over once again, when they are about to make the mistakes, then they'll keep in mind."
She also empasized the need for clear policies and users.atw.hu procedures within schools, noting that numerous schools ought to resolve individuals and process elements of this usage.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually turned to in-class tasks and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I mainly use assignments to make sure students offer initial work." However, he acknowledged that handling large classes makes this approach difficult.
"If you set complicated concerns, students won't have the ability to use AI to get direct answers," he explained.
He highlighted the need for universities to train lecturers on crafting examination questions that AI can not quickly resolve while acknowledging that some speakers struggle to counter AI abuse due to an absence of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he said.
- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, focusing on ethical AI development with fairness, transparency, accountability, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the policy of AI in education, encouraging organizations to examine algorithms, information, and wifidb.science outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they fulfill ethical standards, secure user information, and filter improper content.
- It stresses the need to evaluate the long-lasting impact of AI on vital abilities like thinking and creativity while developing policies that align with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO advises implementing age constraints for GenAI usage to safeguard younger trainees and protect vulnerable groups.
- For governments, it encouraged adopting a coordinated national technique to regulating GenAI, consisting of establishing oversight bodies and lining up regulations with existing information defense and personal privacy laws. It stresses evaluating AI risks, imposing more stringent guidelines for high-risk applications, and making sure nationwide data ownership.
