Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing education while making finding out more accessible but likewise triggering disputes on its effect.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their learning experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic stability, especially with many students not able to protect their projects 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 actions amongst students stating a current experience he had.

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"I gave a task to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% sent the precise same responses. These trainees did not even know each other, but they all used the very same AI tool to create their responses," he said.

He noted that this trend is prevalent amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees but is especially concerning in part-time and distance learning programs.

"AI is a severe challenge when it comes to projects. Many students no longer believe critically-they just go on the internet, produce answers, and send," he added.

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

This debate raises critical concerns about the function of AI in scholastic stability and trainee advancement.

According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million month-to-month active users in January 2023, only one nation had released regulations on generative AI as of July 2023.

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

Decline of academic rigor

University speakers are significantly worried about students submitting AI-generated tasks without truly comprehending the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his concerns to Nairametrics about trainees increasingly depending on ChatGPT, just to deal with answering basic concerns when evaluated.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit sleek projects, however when asked basic questions, they go blank. It's frustrating because education is about finding out, not simply passing courses," he stated.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing number of first-rate graduates can not be entirely credited to AI however admitted that even high-performing trainees use these tools.


"A top-notch student is a first-class student, AI or not, but that doesn't mean they don't cheat. The advantages of AI might be peripheral, however it is making students reliant and less analytical," he stated.

- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various concern that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the same practice.


"It's not simply trainees utilizing AI lazily. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course details, marking plans, and even test concerns with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn utilize AI to produce answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating genuine learning," he regreted.

Students' perspectives on usage

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

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has considerably helped her learning by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of prolonged texts.


"AI helped me understand things more quickly, specifically when dealing with intricate topics," she discussed.

However, she remembered an instance when she used AI to send her project, only for her lecturer to immediately recognize that it was generated by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad impact.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently graduated with a top-notch degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, hb9lc.org strongly believes that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his impressive grades to actively engaging by asking questions and concentrating on locations that lecturers emphasize in class, as they are often shown in examination concerns.


"It's all about existing, paying attention, and taking advantage of the wealth of understanding shared by my associates," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, confesses to sometimes copying directly from ChatGPT when dealing with multiple due dates.


"To be honest, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have numerous deadlines, and I understand I'm guilty of that, most times the lecturers do not get to review them, however AI has likewise assisted me find out faster."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts believe the option lies in AI literacy; teaching trainees and speakers how to use AI as a knowing aid rather than 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 method that preserves human participation while harnessing AI to enhance learning results.


"As we browse the quickly developing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is important that we prioritise human agency in education. We must ensure that AI improves, rather than replaces, teachers' essential role in forming young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement specialist, attended to growing issues regarding the use of synthetic intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their potential threats to the academic system.

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, however, highlighted the requirement for caution in its usage.

- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among educators and schools toward incorporating AI tools in learning environments. She identified 2 primary factors why AI tools are dissuaded in instructional settings: security dangers 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 taking a look at it as a tutor," Akintade stated, explaining that AI does not deal with particular teaching techniques.

Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing information, frequently without correct attribution

"A great deal of individuals need to understand, like I said, 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 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 info that was not accurate.


"Hallucination implied 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 described.

She recommended "grounding" AI by supplying it with particular information 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 academic methods.

- She thinks that regularly enhancing key info assists people remember and prevent making errors when confronted with challenges.


"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell people the exact same thing over and over once again, when they are about to make the mistakes, then they'll remember."

She also empasized the need for clear policies and procedures within schools, noting that many schools ought to address the people and process aspects of this use.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has turned to in-class projects and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.


"Now, I primarily utilize projects to ensure trainees offer original work." However, he acknowledged that handling big classes makes this method difficult.

"If you set complex questions, trainees won't have the ability to use AI to get direct answers," he explained.

He highlighted the requirement for universities to train lecturers on crafting examination concerns that AI can not easily resolve while acknowledging that some lecturers struggle to counter AI abuse due to a lack 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, accountability, and personal privacy at its core.

- UNESCO in a report calls for the guideline of AI in education, recommending organizations to investigate algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they meet ethical requirements, safeguard user data, and filter unsuitable material.

- It stresses the need to evaluate the long-term effect of AI on crucial skills like believing and creativity while producing policies that line up with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO suggests executing age constraints for GenAI use to safeguard more youthful students and protect susceptible groups.
- For governments, it encouraged adopting a coordinated national method to regulating GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and lining up regulations with existing information security and personal privacy laws. It highlights assessing AI dangers, implementing more stringent guidelines for high-risk applications, and making sure nationwide data ownership.