Monica Daberechi NWEKE

This study focused on the uses and abuses of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools among final year students in Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: describe the socioeconomic characteristics of final year students in faculty of agriculture; identify the AI tools that the respondents were aware of; identify the interest in the use of AI tools among the respondents; ascertain the use and frequency of use of AI tools among the respondents; identify the purpose of use of AI tools by the respondents; identify the perceived abuses of AI tools by the respondents and examine the constraints in the use of AI tools by the respondents. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used for a simple random sampling of 145 final year students in faculty of agriculture for the study. Primary data were collected through the use of structured questionnaire. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as: frequency counts, simple percentages and mean scores, as well as inferential statistics such as Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). Results showed that more than half (64.1%) of the respondents were female with a mean 23 years. Most (99.3%) of the students were single. The result showed that most (90.3%) of the final year students were aware of ChatGPT, with more than half (61.4%) of the students showing interest in using it (ChatGPT). Most (99.3%) of the final-year students used ChatGPT and also indicated daily usage. The result showed that most 14 (89.7%) of the final-year students used artificial intelligence (AI) tools for writing assignments. The results also showed that the most significant perceived abuse of artificial intelligence tools by final year students was use of AI tools to answer test or examination questions (x̄=3.46) and the most significant constraints encountered was the requirement for paid subscriptions for most AI tools (x̄= 3.75). It was concluded that most widely used AI tool by the final year students was ChatGPT, while the use of AI tools to answer test or examination questions was identified as the most significant perceived abuse of AI tools by the respondents. The study therefore recommends that the faculty strengthen academic integrity measures and sensitize students on the ethical use of AI tools, especially discouraging their use for tests and examinations.