ChatGPT and epistemic dependency in African higher education

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Chinese explanation / 中文解读

中文解读待补充：本站会优先为大语言模型、生成式AI、ChatGPT相关技术、计算机视觉、深度学习等高价值论文补充中文说明。

Original abstract

The increasing integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into higher education is reshaping knowledge acquisition and academic learning processes. While existing scholarship emphasizes AI-enabled educational opportunities, limited attention has examined how sustained engagement with generative AI restructures students’ epistemic relationships with knowledge, particularly within underrepresented African higher education contexts. This study investigates the relationship between ChatGPT utilization and epistemic dependency among university students in Burundi and Sierra Leone using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods comparative design integrating survey data from 452 students and qualitative interviews. Findings indicate that increased ChatGPT utilization is associated with heightened algorithmic reliance, declining verification practices, and reduced independent inquiry behaviors. Comparative evidence further demonstrates that epistemic dependency remains institutionally contingent rather than technologically uniform. The study advances scholarship on AI-mediated learning by conceptualizing generative AI as an emerging epistemic intermediary influencing knowledge validation process within digitally transforming higher education environments.

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