By: Olayemi Islamiyyah
Image Credit: Faculty Focus
“Write a twenty-page term paper on the comparative analysis of object-orientated and functional programming. Submit two weeks from today,” the lecturer announced. Unlike his coursemate, who waited until the night before the deadline and completed the assignment with the help of ChatGPT, Ade decided to start early, allowing himself enough time to review and revise. However, when the results came out, both students scored the same. Ade regretted not using artificial intelligence (AI), which would have seemingly saved him the time and mental effort.
Academic writing is a structured method of communicating ideas, commonly used in research and education to present data-driven arguments and in-depth analysis. It requires clarity, precision, and a strong grasp of complex concepts, often demanding a formal tone and proper referencing. Despite its importance, many students find academic writing difficult, especially beginners, which leads to the search for quicker and easier ways to complete assignments. Previously, the major concern in academic writing was plagiarism, which is copying someone else’s work without proper attribution. However, with the rise of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Claude, Grok, and Perplexity, the conversation has shifted. The focus is now on originality, critical thinking, and academic integrity, as many students increasingly rely on AI as a shortcut to success.
The use of AI in academic writing has surged, spanning school assignments, essays, and even final-year projects. A 2024 national study involving 509 students, published under the title “Influence of AI on Educational Performance of Nigerian Students in Tertiary Institutions,” revealed that about 74 percent of the respondents were aware of AI tools, with approximately 90 percent of them using these tools for academic purposes such as assignments, projects, and self-study. Interestingly, 58.5 percent of these students had received training on how to use AI for educational tasks.
Despite ongoing debates about whether AI use in academic writing should be accepted, several critical questions remain. Should AI be viewed as a shortcut or a smart tool? Where should the ethical boundary be drawn? How acceptable is the use of AI in academic settings? And to what extent should it be permitted?
Two Sides of A Coin
AI tools are used for a variety of purposes in academic writing. They help generate ideas, structure content, improve grammar, and enhance readability. While some students use AI merely as a guide or to generate outlines, others rely on it to produce entire articles, from the introduction to the conclusion. This dual nature presents AI as a double-edged sword, with one side highlighting its usefulness and the other its potential drawbacks.
The benefits of using AI in academic writing are evident. For one, AI helps generate and refine ideas more efficiently than manual brainstorming. It can also assist in organizing content, ensuring logical flow and coherence. Furthermore, language tools like Grammarly and Quillbot enhance grammar accuracy, paraphrasing quality, and citation precision. Given these advantages, it is unsurprising that many students, particularly in the Gen Z demographic, embrace AI tools. This generation often prioritizes efficiency and convenience, and AI aligns perfectly with these values. After all, even before AI became widespread, academic writing often involved synthesizing the work of multiple authors with a minor personal input. AI simply streamlines this process.
Nonetheless, serious concerns accompany the growing use of AI in academic settings. One of the most pressing is the erosion of academic integrity. Authorship and accountability are central to academic writing. When AI generates content, the question arises: who is responsible for the ideas expressed? This lack of clear authorship undermines the principles of academic honesty.
Plagiarism is another concern. Many students copy and paste AI-generated content without reviewing it or giving proper credit. This practice not only reduces the originality of their work but also misrepresents their intellectual contribution. Ethical concerns also arise from the risk of bias and misinformation. AI outputs depend heavily on the quality of the input and the datasets used during training. Poorly constructed prompts can result in inaccurate or misleading information, and biased datasets may reinforce harmful stereotypes related to gender, culture, or race. Moreover, privacy concerns are significant. Students may inadvertently share personal or sensitive data with AI platforms, potentially exposing themselves to data breaches or misuse.
The absence of clear institutional policies on AI use further complicates the issue. Without established guidelines, students are unsure whether to cite AI-generated content or present it as their own work. This confusion contributes to inconsistent academic standards. In addition, the digital divide is a major challenge. Not all students have equal access to AI tools or the training needed to use them effectively. This disparity gives an unfair advantage to those with better technological resources, widening the academic achievement gap.
Arguably the most troubling concern is the overreliance on AI, which threatens to diminish students’ critical thinking, writing, and research skills. When students depend too heavily on AI, their ability to reason independently weakens, and their intellectual development may stagnate. Just as a tool that is unused becomes rusty, a brain that is not exercised can lose its sharpness.
What Do Students Think And Where Do They Stand?
Despite these concerns, it is clear that AI is here to stay. Given its ability to save time and reduce mental strain, its continued use among students is inevitable. As often remarked, “Who no like better thing?”
Students have varying opinions on the issue. Muhsinah Sharafdeen, a 400-level law student, stated that she uses AI in about three out of every five articles she writes. She believes that AI is ethical when used responsibly. According to her, while many lecturers disapprove of AI use, some are open to it provided the work is properly cited. She supports the implementation of strict rules to preserve students’ creativity and reduce dependency on AI. In her words: “AI is a tool that should enhance our productivity, not replace our creativity. We cannot ignore the value it adds to our academic work. Nevertheless, we must avoid plagiarism and resist the urge to submit AI-generated essays as our own. That would only kill our creativity and research skills.”
Adeyemi Daniel Victor, a 300 level pharmacy student, stated that he uses AI in six out of every ten works. He believes that it is ethical if used properly. According to him, the stance of many lecturers is not that of disapproval but that one makes use of AI responsibly. He also stated that he supports the use of AI in Academics as it saves one a lot of time. He however warned fellow students to make use of it properly and carefully by not engaging in mindless lifting.
Speaking with another student, Sobowale Oluwadarasimi, a 400-level student of Communication and Language Arts, she stated that she uses AI often and that she can’t say much about the ethical use of AI but she believes that it was created to aid such works and it is a student’s duty to decide not to rely on it fully. According to her, the lecturers don’t want them to engage in the use of AI for academics. She stated that rather than implementing strict rules on AI use, Universities should encourage the ethical and responsible use of AI. She concluded by encouraging students to explore their knowledge before relying on AI, in her words, “you’d be surprised how much you knew just by letting yourself write in your own words”.
Akinola Akinjide, a 400 level Veterinary Medicine student stated that he uses AI in about 30% of his work and he believes it is ethical since he gave the AI the prompt as knowing the right prompt is a skill that is dependent on the user. He further stated that though most lecturers usually warn students about the use of AI, he believes they just want to stop laziness and promote intentional work. According to him, “Using AI rightly is an approach that makes work easy and as a student, I will advice you use AI to narrow your work so as to ensure your energy is channeled on the right thing”.
From this and similar student perspectives, it is evident that AI tools are widely used in academic work. However, the lack of regulation has led to misuse and dependency. While the usefulness of AI in academics is undeniable, it must be used responsibly. Institutions must develop clear policies to guide AI usage. Students and lecturers alike should receive training on ethical AI use. Most importantly, students should learn to evaluate and critique AI-generated content instead of accepting it uncritically. AI should be used to complement human creativity, not to replace it.
