Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing education while making discovering more accessible however likewise sparking arguments on its effect.
While students 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, specifically with many trainees unable to protect their assignments or offered works.
Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a speaker at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed frustration over the growing dependence on AI-generated actions amongst students stating a recent experience he had.
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"I gave a project to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% sent the exact same answers. These trainees did not even understand each other, however they all used the same AI tool to produce their responses," he stated.
He noted that this pattern is prevalent among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees but is especially concerning in part-time and range learning programs.
"AI is a severe obstacle when it concerns tasks. Many trainees no longer think critically-they simply browse the web, create responses, 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 convenience instead of intellectual rigor.
This argument raises critical concerns about the function of AI in scholastic integrity and student development.
According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million regular monthly active users in January 2023, only one nation had actually released policies on generative AI since July 2023.
Since December 2024, ChatGPT had over 300 million individuals utilizing the AI chatbot each week and 1 billion messages sent out every day worldwide.
Decline of scholastic rigor
University speakers are increasingly concerned about students submitting AI-generated projects without truly comprehending the material.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his concerns to Nairametrics about students progressively depending on ChatGPT, prawattasao.awardspace.info just to have problem with responding to basic concerns when tested.
"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and send refined projects, however when asked basic questions, they go blank. It's disappointing since education is about learning, not just passing courses," he stated.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu explained that the increasing number of top-notch graduates can not be entirely credited to AI but admitted that even high-performing trainees utilize these tools.
"A first-rate student is a superior student, AI or not, however that doesn't imply they don't cheat. The advantages of AI might be peripheral, but it is making students dependent and less analytical," he stated.
- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various concern that some speakers themselves are guilty of the exact same practice.
"It's not just trainees utilizing AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, create lesson notes, course lays out, marking schemes, and even test concerns with AI without examining them. Students in turn use AI to generate answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing real learning," he regreted.
Students' viewpoints on use
Students, on the other hand, say AI has actually enhanced their learning experience by making academic products more easy to understand and available.
- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has significantly assisted her knowing by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of lengthy texts.
"AI assisted me comprehend things more quickly, particularly when handling complicated topics," she described.
However, she an instance when she utilized AI to submit her task, only for her speaker to immediately acknowledge that it was created by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad impact.
- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently graduated with a top-notch degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly thinks that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his outstanding grades to actively appealing by asking concerns and focusing on areas that lecturers highlight in class, as they are often shown in examination questions.
"It's everything about being present, paying attention, and tapping into the wealth of understanding shared by my coworkers," he stated,
- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, confesses to periodically copying directly from ChatGPT when dealing with multiple deadlines.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have several due dates, and I know I'm guilty of that, the majority of times the lecturers don't get to read through them, but AI has actually likewise assisted me learn faster."
Balancing AI's function in education
Experts believe the option depends on AI literacy
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