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Expert System (AI) is revolutionizing education while making learning more accessible but likewise triggering debates on its effect.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their knowing experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens scholastic stability, particularly with numerous trainees not able to safeguard their assignments or given works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed disappointment over the growing dependence on AI-generated reactions amongst students recounting a current experience he had.

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"I gave a task to my MBA students, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% submitted the exact very same answers. These trainees did not even understand each other, but they all used the very same AI tool to generate their reactions," he stated.

He noted that this trend is common among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees but is especially worrying in part-time and distance learning programs.

"AI is a severe challenge when it comes to tasks. Many trainees no longer believe critically-they just go on the internet, create responses, and send," he included.

Surprisingly, some speakers are likewise accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and trainees turn to AI for benefit rather than intellectual rigor.

This dispute raises critical concerns about the function of AI in academic stability and trainee development.

According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million regular 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 weekly and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the globe.

Decline of scholastic rigor

University speakers are progressively concerned about trainees sending AI-generated tasks without truly understanding the content.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his concerns to Nairametrics about trainees progressively relying on ChatGPT, just to fight with addressing standard questions when tested.

"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send polished assignments, however when asked standard questions, they go blank. It's disappointing because education is about discovering, not just passing courses," he said.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of superior graduates can not be completely attributed to AI but admitted that even high-performing students use these tools.
"A top-notch trainee is a first-rate trainee, AI or not, however that doesn't indicate they do not cheat. The benefits of AI might be peripheral, but it is making students reliant and less analytical," he stated.

- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various concern that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the exact same practice.
"It's not simply students utilizing AI lazily. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course outlines, marking plans, and even test questions with AI without examining them. Students in turn use AI to produce responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing real learning," he lamented.

Students' point of views on use

Students, on the other hand, say AI has actually improved their knowing experience by making academic products more understandable and accessible.

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

However, she remembered an instance when she used AI to send her task, just for her lecturer to right away acknowledge that it was produced by ChatGPT and reject 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, securely thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his outstanding grades to actively engaging by asking questions and focusing on areas that lecturers emphasize in class, as they are often shown in exam concerns.
"It's everything about being present, paying attention, and using the wealth of understanding shared by my coworkers," he stated,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, confesses to periodically copying from ChatGPT when facing numerous due dates.
"To be honest, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have numerous due dates, and I know I'm guilty of that, a lot of times the speakers do not get to review them, but AI has likewise helped me find out much faster."

Balancing AI's role in education

Experts think the option lies in AI literacy; teaching students and speakers how to use AI as a knowing help rather than a faster way.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, users.atw.hu highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the value of a well balanced method that keeps human involvement while harnessing AI to enhance learning outcomes.
"As we browse the rapidly progressing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is vital that we prioritise human company in education. We must ensure that AI improves, rather than changes, teachers' crucial role in shaping young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity transformation professional, attended to growing concerns regarding the use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective dangers to the educational system.

- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, however, emphasized the need for caution in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among educators and schools towards including AI tools in finding out environments. She recognized 2 main reasons why AI tools are dissuaded in academic settings: security dangers and plagiarism. She explained that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based on user interactions, which may not align with the expectations of teachers.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, discussing that AI doesn't accommodate particular teaching methods.

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

"A great deal of individuals need to comprehend, like I said, 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 individuals are fed into it, which in essence implies that is another individual's documents," she warned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early concern in AI advancement understood as "hallucination," where AI tools would create info that was not accurate.
"Hallucination suggested that it was highlighting details from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that details from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.

She recommended "grounding" AI by providing it with specific information to prevent such mistakes.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the solution, particularly when AI presents a chance to leapfrog traditional educational approaches.

- She thinks that consistently enhancing essential info assists people keep in mind and prevent making mistakes when confronted with obstacles.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell people the very same thing over and over once again, when they will make the errors, then they'll keep in mind."

She also empasized the requirement for clear policies and procedures within schools, noting that many schools need to attend to individuals and process elements of this use.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually turned to in-class projects and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I primarily utilize projects to make sure students offer initial work." However, he acknowledged that handling big classes makes this approach tough.

"If you set complex concerns, trainees won't be able to utilize AI to get direct answers," he discussed.

He emphasized the need for universities to train speakers on crafting exam concerns that AI can not quickly resolve while acknowledging that some lecturers battle to counter AI abuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some speakers are analogue," he said.

- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, focusing on ethical AI advancement with fairness, openness, responsibility, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the regulation of AI in education, recommending institutions to audit algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they meet ethical requirements, protect user data, and filter inappropriate content.
- It stresses the requirement to assess the long-lasting effect of AI on important skills like thinking and creativity while creating policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO advises executing age limitations for GenAI usage to secure more youthful trainees and secure susceptible groups.
- For governments, smfsimple.com it recommended embracing a coordinated nationwide approach to regulating GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and aligning policies with existing data security and personal privacy laws. It stresses evaluating AI dangers, implementing more stringent guidelines for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing national information ownership.