Is AI the answer to our learning challenges or a shortcut to mediocrity?

As a Gen Z and a student on campus, I use and I am involved with using AI tools. Using AI has made it easier, from brainstorming research to assignments, as we just have the answer with a click.

Looking back at a Swahili saying, 'baniyani mbaya, kiatu chake dawa,' gives a blurred picture of the future balance between the good and the bad in AI.

Being a student of this technological age, it’s an advantage to have hands-on experience in the ability of AI tools —This helps in brainstorming, research, writing, personalized learning, and content generation — AI has been a vital tool in my academics. Not failing to notice what is on the other side.

"It depends. Copying directly from an AI would constitute cheating, in the same way copying from any human would also be cheating. How does one know if a piece of work is AI-generated or human-written? - AI uses the same grammar, vocabulary, and same writing style as humans, run over ChatGPT, print it out and we are done.” These were the words of one of the group members, and I had to convince them of the AI detector tool so we could discuss the assignment. 

This reflects the side of "Baniyani mbaya."

“AI has been somewhat beneficial to me in that it gives instant feedback on questions asked and provides me with a variety of information from which I can choose the one that’s favorable to me. On the other hand, AI has a negative impact on a person’s critical thinking and the ability of a person to develop his or her answers as AI provides everything. 

Also, AI reduces the attention span of an individual as answers are given right on the spot” says Clement Muchiri – A Fourth-year Bachelor of Commerce student.

On the contrary, the lecturers show divided opinions on AI tools. Some may boast that rather than developing critical thinking and independent problem-solving in students, they make students overly dependent upon artificial intelligence. Suppose anything is always given to them by an AI? In that case, they won't develop a deeper understanding of complex academic works, particularly content-generation tools like language models, which may make them take shortcuts or even produce shallow works rather than work harder or engage better with the subject matter. 

Others support the AI-based tutoring system, “It provides additional academic support outside class. These systems can help reinforce concepts and offer instant clarification for students, especially in large classes where individual attention may be limited. Concerns are students might misuse AI for dishonest practices, such as using AI to generate essays or cheat in assignments.

 While AI tools such as Turnitin can detect some forms of cheating, they may not always catch sophisticated attempts, leading to a potential loss of academic integrity. I believe that AI should complement, not replace, human thinking ability". William Abala - An alumnae of Chuka University, a first-class degree holder in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Interestingly, the other side weighs the challenges when it comes to use in education and operational efficiencies on campuses.

Stakeholders shall have open dialogue on these matters so that the merits of AI can be harnessed and side effects can be minimized. 

For the AI realm of the future of education, ethics, and innovations will be in a fine balance. But the big question remains: Are our institutions prepared enough to steer away from AI malpractices?