ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USAGE AND PERCEIVED NEGATIVE IMPACT ON PROJECT WRITING SKILLS: EVIDENCE FROM BUSINESS EDUCATION IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

The study assessed the extent of Artificial Intelligence Usage and its Perceived Negative Impact on Project Writing Skills: Evidence from Business Education Students in Nigerian Universities. Four purpose of the study and four research questions guided the study. The study was anchored on Cognitive Load Theory, descriptive survey research design with a correlational approach was used as design for the study. The population of the study consisted of Business Education Students drawn from Federal University of Education Pankshin from which a sample of 242 undergraduate Business Education students were selected through proportionate stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a self-made questionnaire titled Artificial Intelligence Usage and Academic Skills Questionnaire (AIUASQ), which was validated by experts and found to be reliable. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC) was used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings from the study reveals that students made frequent use of AI tools and most of them rely on AI tools for their project writing. The study also indicated that a positive relationship between AI usage and digital overreliance among students, while significant negative relationships were found between AI usage and independent and project writing skills. It was concluded that AI provides valuable guide to students on academic activities, over-dependence on these tools reduce students' opportunities to develop independent thinking research competence, and academic writing skills. It is therefore recommended that educational institutions should promote responsible use of AI by strengthening AI literacy to encourage understanding and research abilities.