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Expert System (AI) is changing education while making finding out more accessible but also 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, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens academic stability, specifically with lots of students not able to protect their projects or given works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a speaker at the University of Lagos, archmageriseswiki.com in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed frustration over the growing dependence on AI-generated responses amongst students stating a recent experience he had.

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"I gave an assignment to my MBA students, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% sent the precise same responses. These trainees did not even understand each other, however they all utilized the very same AI tool to generate their actions," he stated.

He noted that this trend prevails among both undergraduate and postgraduate students but is particularly concerning in part-time and users.atw.hu distance knowing programs.

"AI is a major challenge when it comes to projects. Many trainees no longer think critically-they simply go online, generate answers, and submit," he included.

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

This argument raises critical about the role of AI in scholastic integrity and trainee advancement.

According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million regular monthly active users in January 2023, only one country had actually released guidelines on generative AI since July 2023.

Since December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million individuals using the AI chatbot weekly and 1 billion messages sent every day all over the world.

Decline of scholastic rigor

University speakers are increasingly concerned about trainees submitting AI-generated tasks without truly comprehending the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his issues to Nairametrics about students increasingly counting on ChatGPT, only to fight with answering basic questions when evaluated.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit polished assignments, but when asked standard questions, they go blank. It's disappointing due to the fact that education is about learning, not simply passing courses," he stated.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu mentioned that the increasing number of first-rate graduates can not be totally associated to AI however confessed that even high-performing trainees use these tools.
"A first-class trainee is a superior student, AI or not, however that does not indicate they do not cheat. The advantages of AI might be peripheral, but it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he said.

- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different issue that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the exact same practice.
"It's not just students utilizing AI slackly. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course outlines, marking schemes, and even examination concerns with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn use AI to produce responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing genuine knowing," he regreted.

Students' viewpoints on usage

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

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

However, she remembered an instance when she utilized AI to send her task, only for her lecturer to immediately acknowledge that it was produced by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad effect.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently finished with a superior degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, securely believes that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his outstanding grades to actively engaging by asking concerns and concentrating on areas that lecturers stress in class, as they are typically reflected in examination questions.
"It's all about existing, paying attention, and taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge shared by my colleagues," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, confesses to sometimes copying straight from ChatGPT when dealing with several due dates.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have numerous deadlines, and I know I'm guilty of that, the majority of times the lecturers do not get to review them, however AI has actually likewise helped me discover quicker."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts think the solution lies in AI literacy; mentor trainees and lecturers how to use AI as a knowing help 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 approach that preserves human participation while harnessing AI to improve learning outcomes.
"As we browse the rapidly progressing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is crucial that we prioritise human firm in education. We must guarantee that AI enhances, instead of changes, educators' vital role in shaping young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement specialist, resolved growing issues regarding using artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their potential risks to the academic system.

- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, nevertheless, emphasized the requirement for caution in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance amongst teachers and schools towards incorporating AI tools in learning environments. She determined 2 main reasons that AI tools are prevented in instructional settings: security risks and plagiarism. She explained that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based upon user interactions, which might not line up with the expectations of educators.
"It is not taking a look at it as a tutor," Akintade said, describing that AI doesn't cater to particular teaching approaches.

Plagiarism is another problem, as AI pulls from existing data, typically without correct attribution

"A great deal of people need to comprehend, 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 means that is another individual's documents," she cautioned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI advancement referred to as "hallucination," where AI tools would produce information that was not factual.
"Hallucination indicated that it was highlighting information 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 info to avoid such errors.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the service, particularly when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog standard instructional techniques.

- She thinks that consistently reinforcing crucial info assists people remember and prevent making mistakes when confronted with difficulties.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell individuals the same thing over and over again, when they will make the mistakes, then they'll remember."

She likewise empasized the requirement for clear policies and treatments within schools, noting that numerous schools need to address the individuals and process elements of this usage.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has resorted to in-class tasks and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I primarily use assignments to guarantee trainees offer original work." However, he acknowledged that managing big classes makes this approach hard.

"If you set complicated concerns, students will not have the ability to use AI to get direct answers," he described.

He stressed the requirement for universities to train speakers on crafting exam questions that AI can not quickly solve while acknowledging that some speakers struggle to counter AI misuse 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 development with fairness, openness, accountability, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the guideline of AI in education, recommending institutions to examine algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they satisfy ethical requirements, protect user information, and filter improper material.
- It stresses the need to evaluate the long-lasting impact of AI on important abilities like believing and imagination while creating policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO recommends carrying out age restrictions for GenAI use to safeguard younger students and secure susceptible groups.
- For governments, it recommended embracing a collaborated nationwide approach to controling GenAI, consisting of establishing oversight bodies and lining up regulations with existing information security and personal privacy laws. It emphasizes examining AI dangers, implementing stricter rules for high-risk applications, and making sure national data ownership.