ABUJA — Could the growing dependence on Artificial Intelligence (AI) be quietly weakening the ability of young people to think for themselves?
That is the warning from the President of the Guild of Online Media Editors and Publishers of Nigeria (GOMEP-NG), Comr. Akpovoke Otiti, who has raised concerns over the increasing use of AI among young people, particularly in classrooms and academic tutorials.
Speaking recently at a programme in Abuja, Otiti warned that excessive reliance on AI could undermine human cognitive abilities, especially among Generation Z and younger learners.
According to him, society may be gradually losing sight of the responsibility to protect and develop human intellectual capacity, a situation he said could become difficult to reverse if allowed to continue unchecked.
He expressed concern about the growing use of AI-enabled devices in homes, schools and classrooms, warning that young people could become overly dependent on machines for tasks that require independent thinking and reasoning.
Otiti also cautioned against allowing digital learning to completely replace traditional methods such as reading, writing, critical reasoning, human interaction and practical learning.
«“The danger is that we may gradually stop exercising the very abilities that make us human,” he said.»
The GOMEP-NG president stressed that education must go beyond simply accessing information, arguing that students should be trained to analyse, question, reason and arrive at original conclusions.
He further expressed concern over reports of declining attention spans and weakening executive-function skills, describing responsible technology use as an increasingly urgent issue for parents, teachers, schools and policymakers.
Otiti also pointed to reports that some technology executives are opting for low-tech educational environments for their children, describing the development as a reason for society to take a closer look at the consequences of excessive technology exposure among children and adults.
He, however, clarified that the answer is not to reject AI but to ensure that the technology remains a tool for enhancing human abilities rather than replacing them.
According to him, the major challenge before society is finding the right balance between technological advancement and the preservation of human intellectual capacity.
«“The coming era will be the ability to think deeply, knowledgeably and originally, and to be the best of what the human being can be, not a pale imitation of AI,” he said.»
Otiti called on educators, parents and policymakers to develop responsible guidelines for the use of AI in education while preserving activities that strengthen independent thought, creativity, concentration and problem-solving skills.
His warning adds to the growing global debate over the impact of generative AI on education, as schools and educators continue to grapple with how to harness the benefits of the technology without weakening students’ ability to think, learn and create independently.
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