Historians, researchers, students cautioned against unchecked AI use in research

The Department of History, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has cautioned historians, researchers and students against relying uncritically on information generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), urging them to verify such materials before using them for teaching, research or public communication.

The warning was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the department’s three-day international conference, themed “Futures of History”.

The conference noted that while AI has become a valuable tool for speeding up searches, transcription and the organisation of research materials, it is also capable of producing inaccurate information, fabricated references, biased interpretations and incomplete historical context.

Participants, therefore, urged researchers to authenticate quotations, dates, references and citations through credible primary and secondary sources before incorporating them into scholarly works.

The conference also called on universities and professional bodies to develop ethical guidelines regulating the use of AI in historical research.

According to the communiqué, such guidelines should address issues of citation, data protection, academic integrity and the disclosure of AI-assisted work.

Participants further appealed to the Federal Government, state governments, universities and education agencies to strengthen the teaching of history at all levels of education, stressing that the discipline remains essential for understanding institutions, identity and societal transformation.

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The Vice-Chancellor of OAU, Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire, who was the Chief Host, was represented at the opening ceremony by the Dean, Faculty of Arts, Professor Gbenga Fasiku, while the Head of the Department of History, Dr Shina Alimi, led the conference.

Delivering the first keynote address, Professor Abiodun Alao of King’s College London examined Africa’s place within the discipline of history, while Professor Tunde Decker of Osun State University, in the second keynote lecture, explored the intersections of storytelling, algorithms and scientific knowledge.

Scholars at the conference deliberated through 10 physical and two virtual panel sessions on issues including digital media, oral traditions, colonial archives, gender, youth, environmental history, education, public policy and public history.

The conference also urged governments and public institutions to invest more in archives, libraries and the digitisation of fragile historical records while encouraging researchers to document oral traditions, indigenous languages, local histories and archival materials in private collections.

It equally recommended more innovative approaches to teaching history through supervised digital tools, visual materials, oral history projects and community-based learning.

The communiqué further encouraged historians to engage the wider public through museums, schools, broadcast media and credible online platforms, warning that misinformation thrives where reliable historical scholarship is inaccessible or poorly communicated.

Participants also called for sustained seminars, collaborative research and international engagements to address the evolving methods, challenges and responsibilities of the historical profession.