“Who Am I Without AI”: OAU Students on AI Usage
At exactly 2:17 a.m. on a Monday morning in ETF Hall, the room was quiet except for the soft hum of a fan and the glow of a phone screen. An assignment is due for submission by 8 a.m., and the lecture note is highly confusing. Instead of flipping through textbooks and slides, Lakunle was so engrossed with his phone, prompting an AI tool, with the assignment question, which have been given for the past two weeks.
In the speed of light, within a blink of an eye, the answers appeared swiftly and easily. He quickly plagiarized the answers as it appeared on the screen, without removing a single word from it. The assignment was rejected and Lakunle got no scores for the assignment, because the lecturer discovered that the assignment has the word; “would you like me to convert to an exam-worthy answer that suits your lecturer’s taste?” inscribed on it.
Many students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) are like Lakunle, as they no longer do the usual, rather they rely completely on Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence has quietly shifted from being just another technological innovation, to becoming a constant academic companion.
From Innovation to Everyday Use
Every phase of human civilization has been shaped by technological advancement. From tools designed for calculations, such as Abacus, to those that assist with writing and analysis, innovation has always responded to human needs. The emergence of AI tools is a direct product of this evolution.
For many undergraduates, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer used occasionally; it has become the part and parcel of almost everything. From assignments and research to generating ideas, summarising lecture notes. The most surprisingly funny and somewhat ridiculous of all is that some student politicians now draft their manifestoes with AI tools like ChatGPT, during students’union elections. Its influence has extended into everyday academic and social life on campus.
AI as a Study Companion
For John, a Chemical Engineering student, AI has become almost indispensable to his academic routine.
“I use tools like ChatGPT, Claude, even Grok sometimes. But personally, I prefer Claude.”
According to him, the real value lies in how AI simplifies complexity.
“I use it to break down my course PDFs. I prompt it to explain things in a way I can easily understand and recall. Sometimes, I even ask it to set questions for me, and surprisingly, some of them are similar to what I see in exams.”
John further explained that, the experience has been largely positive, his only frustration is not with the tool itself, but with access.
“The only time it fails me is when there’s poor data connection,” he added. In one word, he describes AI as “powerful.”
A Political Science student, Opeyemi, shares a similar dependence, though with a slightly different approach.
“I use AI mostly for studying, explaining difficult topics, generating ideas, even checking meanings of new words,” they said. “Honestly, it just makes learning easier.”
When AI Gets It Wrong
Beneath the convenience lies a more complicated reality, one that many students have encountered firsthand.
Ifeoluwa, a Part 3 student of Sociology, recalls a moment that shifted her trust in AI dependency.
“I used it to explain a topic I didn’t fully understand, and it gave me a completely wrong explanation,” she said. “I didn’t realise until later, and it affected my grade badly.”
It was not funny at all, but “I still use AI, although now I’m more careful. I don’t just accept everything it gives me.”
Another student from the department of Linguistics shared how close he came to a serious academic mistake.
“It gave me an incorrect answer, and I almost used it without verifying, I was actually on the verge of failing that assignment.”
For Faith, the lesson came in a similar way; “I once used AI to understand complex concepts, and it explained it so confidently that I didn’t doubt it. Later, I found out that it was entirely wrong. Since then, my approach has changed significantly. Now, I cross-check everything. I go back to my notes or other trusted sources, just to ensure that I am on the right track”
Convenience vs Critical Thinking
These experiences highlight a growing concern: while AI makes academic work faster and easier, it is also capable of reducing the need for deep/critical thinking.
Students who once spent hours analysing and breaking down concepts, now get instant answers within seconds. While this improves efficiency on one hand, it one the other hand raises an important question— at what cost does it improve efficiency?
Across Nigerian universities, there is increasing worry that overdependence on AI may gradually weaken students’ critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. What used to require effort, patience, and reasoning is now, for many, just a prompt away.
Finding the Balance
Despite these concerns, many students are not entirely unaware of the risks and negative impacts it has on them, instead, they keep on learning to adjust.
Double-checking as a means of verification is becoming a habit, as trust is no longer automatic. Just as Shola puts it; “AI is a very helpful tool that’s set to reshape education, however, it can be easily manipulated in the wrong hands.”
The Question That Remains
AI is undoubtedly swift, efficient, and is transforming education in ways that cannot be ignored. However, it continues to sit quietly beside students in lecture halls and late-night study sessions, one question remains; are OAU students still doing the thinking or is AI doing it for them?
Comments
Post a Comment