Nsukka, NIGERIA – In recent years, artificial intelligence has evolved into a high-performing tool that eases how people all over the world handle different tasks, ranging from doing chores at home to driving, academic work, research, and even communicating in real-time with chatbots.
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But as this usage increases, there is a concern about whether this tool is slowly robbing humans of their ability to think critically.
Students and academic staff at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka are actively engaged in this conversation.
Ugochukwu Benson, a 300-level student of the Department of Electrical Engineering, said uses AI for his academics.
“I use AI tools very frequently,” said Benson. “They’ve become part of my regular academic workflow. I primarily use tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, depending on the kind of task, whether it’s research, explanation, or structuring ideas.”
But Benson said AI tools can cause brain rot to students who use the tools to escape learning.
“AI can cause brain rot, but to me, it depends on the motive or intent of the student,” Benson said. “To me, there are two types of users: those who use AI to learn, and those who use it to escape learning. The first group uses AI to deepen understanding; the second uses it to shortcut the process. So, the issue isn’t the tool, it’s the intent behind how it’s used.”
But not all students share Benson’s optimism.
Chidubem Obidike, a 200-level student of Arts Education, laid emphasis on the negative effects of increased dependence on those tools.
“While it’s not a hidden fact that AI has been so helpful to students but then, the irony here is that the rate at which the students have become so lazily dependent on it is quite alarming and crippling,” Obidike said.
Yet, for some students, the advantages of AI continue to outweigh its drawbacks. A report from the data analysis firm DemandSage shows that over 987 million people use AI chatbots worldwide, with ChatGPT topping the chart with a market share of nearly 80%.
Mmesoma Enenebeaku, a third-year student in Mass Communication at the university, said the technology has improved her understanding of course materials, especially in situations where classroom explanations may not be sufficient.
Among lecturers, there’s a similar pattern of cautious acceptance.
Chinasa Onyenekwe, who is the head of the Department of Agric Economics, said the role of AI in academia should be strictly used as a helping tool and not as the source of an entire research or project work.
“My perspective of students using AI tools is that they are there to improve the work of students, but they shouldn’t completely rely on those tools and are supposed to use their cognitive initiatives to do things,” Onyenekwe said.
She also expressed her dissatisfaction towards students who avoid making use of their cognitive abilities and completely depend on artificial intelligence tools.
“What we see with a lot of students is that when they are given research topics or projects to do, instead of thinking on their own they just go over to AI tools, type in something and just ask AI to write the whole thing, which is wrong,” Onyenekwe said. “I still give my students the freedom to use AI tools for editorial purposes and referencing.”
According to her, she uses tools like Turnitin to detect the level of AI assistance in a work.
Onyenekwe she doesn’t completely condemn AI. She said students can use tools like CiteSpace to help with literature review in research.
When asked what measures could be implemented to tackle the increasing over dependence on AI tools, Onyenekwe said:
“The university should have a policy on how these tools are used. I don’t think the university has a clear rule on the percentage of AI assistance that should be found in a work. At the moment, it is left to the discretion of supervisors to determine the suitable percentage of AI assistance in the works of their supervisees. So, I think there should be punishment for those who break the rule and rewards for those who don’t.”
Ijeoma Ajaero from the Department of Mass Communication also weighed in on student use of AI.
“I think AI tools are good for both research, studying, and all sorts of things,” Ajaero said. “Nowadays, AI can help you gather resources for a particular topic. But the only problem I see is how it is used. Most times, students don’t understand the difference between artificial intelligence and human intelligence. AI will always tell you to doublecheck answers. But students won’t check, they give it to you that way. I use AI tools for different aspects of research, but it all boils down to how those tools are used.”
Humans are more intelligent than machines with artificial intelligence, Ajaero said.
“I always say artificial intelligence is artificial and cannot be natural,” she said. “We’re more intelligent than the machines. As a human, you should then learn to apply these tools to your benefit. Artificial intelligence will always remain artificial and human intelligence will always remain human.”
Chibuike Chukwuka is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
