ASSESSMENT OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS' DEPENDENCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS IN OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY, ILE-IFE

This study examined undergraduate students? dependence on artificial intelligence (AI) tools at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Using a descriptive survey design, data were collected from 386 students selected through convenience sampling. A research instrument titled ?Undergraduate Students' Dependence on Artificial Intelligence Tools? (USDAIT) was validated and found reliable with a Cronbach Alpha Coefficient of 0.76. Descriptive statistics revealed that students often use AI tools for assignments with the highest proportion of 49.00%, 67.90% of the respondents often use AI tools for examinations preparation, 36.30% of the respondents often substitute AI tools in place of dictionary while 20.30% always do, 38.30% of the respondents often use AI tools for tutoring, 36.90% of the respondents often use AI tools for projects, and 36.30% use it for paper presentations, 69.90% of the respondents said that they rarely use AI tools for group discussions. The null hypothesis (H0), which states that there is no significant influence in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools by Obafemi Awolowo University undergraduate students on academic performance, was accepted (t = 1.19, p>0.05). The grand mean rose above the criterion mean, indicating a collective agreement on the reliability of AI tools. The clustered standard deviations further confirmed consistency among respondents. The study concluded that the level of reliance of the students in the study area on Artificial Intelligence is reasonably high despite the fact that they face a number of challenges with the use of these AI tools. This study further recommended that the institution should provide mandatory comprehensive training programmes and training sessions for the students so that they can learn the ethical use of the AI tools.