UNILAG VC Warns Unregulated AI Use is Eroding Students’ Critical Thinking Skills

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Folasade Ogunsola, has issued a stark warning that the unregulated and overreliant use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by students is actively eroding critical thinking skills and allowing learners to bypass the fundamental processes of education.

Speaking at the 8th Lagos State University (LASU) Research and Innovation Fair, themed “Accelerating National Development through Artificial Intelligence-Driven Research and Innovation,” Prof. Ogunsola emphasized that while AI holds enormous potential to transform education, its misuse poses a severe threat to intellectual development. The event, held at the LASU campus in Ojo, Lagos, gathered top academic minds to address the dual-edged nature of emerging technologies in higher education.

Prof. Ogunsola stressed that the core mandate of universities is to cultivate minds capable of clear, logical, and critical thought. She argued that the cognitive struggle involved in solving complex problems is essential for brain development. 

“Our job is to teach minds to think, and a mind that is not challenged cannot think, because the struggle of working things out is what makes a mind think and builds critical analysis, not giving it out to AI,” she stated. 

She cautioned that platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini are increasingly leading to the erosion of foundational learning skills. “We’re beginning to recognise that it might bypass learning, that students may come into school and leave at the end having not learnt. Overdependence on AI is not good for brain development, so there have to be guardrails with AI use,” she added, urging students to use AI as an assistant rather than a substitute for their own intellect.

A significant hurdle for educational institutions is the sheer sophistication and accessibility of these tools. Prof. Ogunsola noted that AI can access knowledge, recall facts, and execute processes far faster than humans, making it incredibly difficult for faculty to police its use, especially when students can access these models seamlessly via mobile phones. Strikingly, she revealed that "ninety-four per cent of AI-generated research may go undetected" by current academic scrutiny tools.

Consequently, she argued that outright banning AI is neither practical nor sustainable. Instead, universities must proactively redefine the skills they expect students to develop and innovate their assessment methods to accurately gauge genuine learning. “If we’re going to really start to ensure that the next generation is thinking, we cannot ban AI, but we must find ways to ensure that they use AI to learn, and we have methods to know what they have learned and to force them to think,” she asserted.

Beyond the erosion of critical thinking, Prof. Ogunsola highlighted a spectrum of associated risks, including academic integrity violations, AI "hallucinations" (inaccurate information), data privacy concerns, intellectual property infringements, digital inequality, and potential future job displacements.

Echoing the need for structured integration, Professor Adebayo Abiodun, former Vice-Chancellor of Covenant University, stressed that institutions must urgently develop comprehensive AI policies to guide both students and staff. He advocated for robust "town-and-gown" collaboration, urging universities to partner with corporate bodies to sensitize professionals and integrate AI tools to enhance, rather than replace, human productivity. He also called for significant government investment to make AI platforms freely accessible for educational purposes.

The outgoing LASU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, noted that the fair provided a crucial platform for innovators to showcase solutions tailored to contemporary challenges. She emphasized that Nigerian institutions must go beyond merely adopting AI as a superficial tool. Instead, she urged scholars and students to leverage these advanced technologies to solve distinctly Nigerian problems, foster interdisciplinary research, and actively participate in an AI-enabled global economy.

Babatunde Ogala, SAN, Chairman of the LASU Governing Council, reinforced this sentiment during his address. Represented by council member Taiwo Atolagbe, Ogala highlighted the critical importance of Nigeria engaging with the AI transformation responsibly and purposefully, stressing that interdisciplinary collaboration is non-negotiable for thriving in the modern digital economy.

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the global educational landscape, the consensus among Nigeria’s academic leaders is clear: the technology is here to stay. The imperative now lies in establishing robust guardrails, innovative pedagogical strategies, and ethical frameworks that ensure AI serves as a catalyst for intellectual empowerment, rather than an agent of cognitive decline.