Ghana Tertiary Institutions Urged To Regulate Use of AI Tools

Tertiary education regulators and institutions have been urged to develop policies to regulate the use of ChatGPT and other similar artificial intelligence (AI) tools in academia.

These AI tools help students and lecturers to write essays, conduct research, do power point presentations, develop lesson notes, find solutions to questions and make learning and assignments easier.

According to an AI expert, Richard Dayie at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), said the increasing use of these tools in education calls for regulation to ensure ethical and responsible usage.

Read Also: Google Replies Chatgpt Challenge With Bard Expansion

He made the statement when he addressed a technology trends and awareness webinar series session organized by the Department of Information Technology Studies of UPSA.

The initiative of the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Studies was on the theme Artificial Intelligence, CHATGPT Implications for Education and Research.

The virtual event, open to academia, students and the public aims to raise awareness of digital technology developments and their implications for individuals, organizations, and society.

Dayie said AI is used in a variety of industries, ranging from healthcare to finance while CHATGPT was becoming increasingly popular in the field of education.

He said the CHATGPT offered a unique lesson for each student and quick feedback on student’s work while for teachers, it helps with grading and attendance tracking as well as generating new learning materials.

He said there were challenges with the tools as students who were oblivious or did not have access to the software were disadvantaged as well as ethical issues.

In his welcome address, the Vice Dean of the Faculty and Chairman of the Technology Trends and Awareness Creation Committee, Emmanuel Owusu-Oware said AI had good and bad sides and highlighting them would help students and lecturers make informed decisions.

The Director of the Documentation and Information Management Centre of UPSA, Edwin Ayernor, who presided over the event urged educators to look for other ways of assessing students that could not be assisted by AI.