Abstract
The university is traditionally mandated with training generations of scholars
on knowledge production and maintaining the integrity of the knowledge
production system. However, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and
their wide adoption by researchers may challenge this mandate by altering
research processes. This article discusses the changing research cultures arising
from the use of AI tools in academic research and how these may occasion
retrogressive research cultures. It uses exploratory methodology, engaging with
literature and pertinent theories. The article’s main finding is that AI is widely
used in various research stages. It also establishes the different viewpoints on
AI usage, collating the wider African vision of scientific knowledge production.
It concludes that AI affects cognitive-based learning and critical thinking, which
may disrupt the succession of research cultures and divest the academe of its
intellectual integrity. The article suggests an urgent review of AI use in
universities to restore and maintain the integrity of knowledge production for
the well-being of current and future societies.