Expert System (AI) is transforming education while making discovering more available however also sparking disputes on its impact.
While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for enhancing their knowing experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic stability, particularly with lots of students not able to defend their assignments or offered works.
Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed frustration over the growing reliance on AI-generated responses amongst trainees recounting a current experience he had.
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"I offered a project to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% sent the exact very same responses. These students did not even understand each other, however they all utilized the very same AI tool to create their actions," he said.
He noted that this pattern is widespread among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is particularly worrying in part-time and range learning programs.
"AI is a serious difficulty when it concerns assignments. Many students no longer believe critically-they simply go on the internet, generate responses, and send," he added.
Surprisingly, some lecturers are likewise accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and students turn to AI for convenience rather than intellectual rigor.
This argument raises important concerns about the function of AI in academic integrity and trainee advancement.
According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million regular monthly active users in January 2023, just one country had actually launched policies on generative AI as of July 2023.
As of December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million people using the AI chatbot weekly and 1 billion messages sent every day around the globe.
Decline of academic rigor
University speakers are increasingly worried about trainees submitting AI-generated projects without really comprehending the material.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his concerns to Nairametrics about students progressively counting on ChatGPT, just to battle with answering standard concerns when checked.
"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit polished assignments, but when asked basic concerns, they go blank. It's disappointing because education has to do with discovering, not simply passing courses," he stated.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing number of superior graduates can not be completely attributed to AI but admitted that even high-performing trainees utilize these tools.
"A first-class student is a superior trainee, AI or not, however that doesn't indicate they do not 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 different issue that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the exact same practice.
"It's not simply trainees utilizing AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course outlines, marking plans, and even exam concerns with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn use AI to generate responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real knowing," he lamented.
Students' point of views on use
Students, on the other hand, greyhawkonline.com state AI has enhanced their learning experience by making academic products more easy to understand and greyhawkonline.com accessible.
- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has substantially assisted her learning by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI assisted me understand things more quickly, especially when handling intricate subjects," she explained.
However, she remembered a circumstances when she utilized AI to submit her job, only for her lecturer to right away acknowledge that it was created by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad effect.
- Bryan Okwuba, who recently finished with a first-class degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, firmly believes that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his exceptional grades to actively interesting by asking questions and focusing on locations that lecturers stress in class, as they are frequently shown in exam concerns.
"It's all about existing, focusing, and tapping into the wealth of knowledge shared by my associates," he stated,
- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, confesses to periodically copying straight from ChatGPT when facing numerous deadlines.
"To be honest, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have numerous deadlines, and I know I'm guilty of that, a lot of times the lecturers don't get to check out through them, however AI has actually likewise assisted me discover faster."
Balancing AI's role in education
Experts think the option lies in AI literacy; teaching students 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 value of a balanced method that preserves human involvement while harnessing AI to enhance finding out outcomes.
"As we navigate the rapidly developing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is important that we prioritise human agency in education. We must make sure that AI improves, rather than changes, educators' crucial function in shaping young minds," he stated
Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity change expert, addressed growing concerns relating to making use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective risks to the educational system.
- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, nevertheless, emphasized the requirement for care in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among educators and schools towards integrating AI tools in finding out environments. She identified two main reasons AI tools are prevented in educational settings: security dangers and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based upon user interactions, which might not align with the expectations of educators.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade stated, describing that AI does not accommodate particular mentor approaches.
Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing information, typically without proper attribution
"A lot of individuals require to understand, like I stated, this is information that has actually been trained on. It is not simply bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing details that some other people are fed into it, which in essence indicates that is another individual's paperwork," she cautioned.
- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI development understood as "hallucination," where AI tools would generate info that was not factual.
"Hallucination meant that it was drawing out information from the air. If ChatGPT might not get that information from you, it was going to make one up," she described.
She advised "grounding" AI by offering it with particular info to prevent such mistakes.
Navigating AI in Education
Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the service, particularly when AI presents a chance to leapfrog conventional instructional approaches.
- She believes that regularly strengthening essential info helps people keep in mind and avoid making mistakes when confronted with challenges.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform people the exact same thing over and over again, when they will make the errors, then they'll keep in mind."
She likewise empasized the requirement for clear policies and treatments within schools, noting that numerous schools ought to resolve individuals and procedure aspects of this usage.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually turned to in-class projects and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I primarily utilize projects to ensure students offer original work." However, he acknowledged that managing large classes makes this approach difficult.
"If you set intricate concerns, trainees won't have the ability to use AI to get direct answers," he discussed.
He highlighted the requirement for universities to train lecturers on crafting test concerns 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 released a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI development with fairness, transparency, responsibility, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the policy of AI in education, advising organizations to investigate algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they meet ethical requirements, protect user data, and filter improper material.
- It stresses the need to examine the long-term impact of AI on vital abilities like thinking and imagination while creating policies that line up with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO advises carrying out age limitations for GenAI use to secure more youthful trainees and secure susceptible groups.
- For federal governments, it advised adopting a collaborated nationwide approach to controling GenAI, including establishing oversight bodies and aligning guidelines with existing information defense and personal privacy laws. It emphasizes evaluating AI dangers, implementing stricter guidelines for high-risk applications, and ensuring national information ownership.
