Education entails a teaching process involving an instructor and students in the formal or informal learning sector. For teaching and learning to happen, there must be a teacher willing to teach the students voluntarily or for a price. The education process is intended to equip students with knowledge of specific values, talents, or skills (hard or soft skills). Donaldson and Allen-Handy regard education as a product purchased by consumers as well as the act of acquiring knowledge-related commodities. Nelson Mandela called it “ the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” This shows that education is a means to an end. It gives learners the opportunity to be equipped with the tools to navigate life while offering hope to obtain future dreams, hopes, and aspirations.

Hampshire College conceptualised research as a logical probing process involving data collection, review, analysis, documentation, interpretation, and reporting or presenting findings from the study using appropriate disciplinary methodologies. Western Sydney University holds that research involves creating new awareness using existing information or modifying old data to produce new ideas or approaches.

Research and learning depend on data or information stored or shared in hard or soft copies or formats. Students rely on published (hard copy) materials to navigate their journey; however, reliance on soft copy materials has increased in the 21st century. With this development, the internet has become the “go-to” library for students, thereby limiting scholars' use of hard-copy literature. This development has led to increased reliance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) by scholars, due to its speed and the large number of references available to AI. This has also raised worries about whether robots will completely take over human teaching and research and its implications for education.

Statistics on the Global Use of AI

According to Britannica, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the “ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.” Artificial intelligence refers to computers invented to replicate human intelligence faster and more accurately. Although humans have utilised machines for different functions, the official history of AI began with Alan Mathison Turing’s computer innovation in 1936, upon which all modern computers are hinged. Turing’s publication in 1950 raised the question, “Can machines think?” and gave rise to the Turing Test. Research suggests that by 2000, 70% of people who spend more than five minutes interacting with computers might be unable to tell the difference between a robot and a human.

However,  it was not until after Dartmouth's 1956 summer workshop on "artificial intelligence" that the term ‘artificial intelligence’ was used. John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Claude Shannon, and Nathaniel Rochester organised the seminar. Turing’s Turing Test and the 1956 conference raised significant awareness of AI and its advancement in the future.

The creation of ChatGPT in 2022 increased the reliance on AI for educational and learning objectives. The latest available data indicates that the global AI market increased by $60 billion in 2022 to over $196 billion in 2023. It also showed that over 97 million people will be employed in the AI industry by 2025, with the global AI market expected to grow by at least 120% year-over-year to reach $1.81 trillion by 2030.

Implications of AI on Education and Research in Nigeria and The Way Forward

AI is a relatively new concept in Nigeria. However, Nigerians should still consider the possible implications for research and learning. According to Google, the number of AI searches in Nigeria increased by 100% in 2022 and 1,660% within five years (2019-2023). Curiosity is estimated to keep rising, thereby increasing the number of users.

Although Nigeria is a latecomer to global AI innovation, startups have ventured into the sector. Uniccon Group, in 2022, invented Omeife, a 6-foot-tall human-like robot, the first multilingual robot produced in Africa that is fluent in Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, French, Arabic, Kiswahili, Pidgin, Wazobia, and Afrikaans. More technology companies like  Smart Web Nigeria Limited, Crystalfix Nigeria Limited (CNL), Swift Telephone Network Limited (STN), and Cedarview Communications Limited (CCL) are making an impact in Nigeria’s AI and technology sector.

AI has improved teaching and learning as well as research in Nigeria. However, the rate of student and scholar reliance on it needs to be checked to avoid misuse. While many use AI to check for plagiarism, grammar and reference structures, proofread essays, and even dictate AI scores, others use it to write a whole essay. AI tools like Quillbot and Grammarly help students and researchers have better writing output. AI tools like Canva and Slidesgo are used, among other things, by scholars to make smart content and presentations more colourful and concise, while others, like  Open AI ChatGPT, are used to generate academic content. While this article posits that AI has made learning and research easier, it has also led to an over-reliance on computers and robots to generate research articles and run assignments.

AI exposes students and researchers to global and more comprehensive content and helps submerge them into a global scheme of work, but at the same time, it impedes the progress of education. Reliance on AI tools like ChatGPT has limited students’ intellectual dedication to academic assignments. Students and researchers turn to AI to produce articles and assignments of higher quality than they would have produced without the aid of AI.

While Nigerians utilise the benefits of large language models in education and research, promoting its efficient use for positive development purposes in these fields is necessary. The National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Abuja (NCAIR) should also strive to promote grass-roots scoping for crude or semi-crude AI innovations that can aid in promoting technology in Nigeria, as well as in education and research.

In addition, just as in countries like China, Cuba, Italy, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and in some African countries like the Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Eswatini, and South Sudan, the Nigerian government should prioritise policies that will ensure that students who overly rely on these tools are punished. When such policies are implemented and adequately followed, the human factor in Education and research will be upheld in Nigeria.

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