Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence in Education: Safeguarding Plagiarism, Academic Integrity, and Data Privacy in Nigerian Universities

Résumé

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming higher education in Nigeria, creating opportunities for efficiency, personalization, and innovation while introducing significant ethical risks. Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, and Quillbot, alongside plagiarism detectors and automated grading systems, have intensified persistent issues of academic dishonesty, contract cheating, and weak enforcement of integrity standards. Equally, reliance on vast educational data heightens concerns about privacy and sovereignty, especially given poor institutional compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (2023). Global ethical frameworks from UNESCO and Globethics remain insufficiently contextualized to Nigeria’s socio-cultural and infrastructural realities, exposing policy gaps that hinder responsible integration. This study proposes a stakeholder-centered conceptual framework that aligns AI adoption with processes of governance, safeguards, and accountability, emphasizing academic integrity, privacy protection, and institutional credibility. Findings underscore the urgency of proactive interventions to strengthen assessment systems, embed privacy-by-design practices, and enhance AI literacy for faculty and students. Recommendations call for contextualized ethical policies, strengthening integrity systems, collaborative regulation, and alignment of AI adoption with Nigeria’s digital economy agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. Responsible integration of AI is vital to sustaining institutional trust, enhancing global competitiveness, and advancing Nigeria’s human capital development.