From Intellectual Waste to Intellectual Growth: A Phenomenological Prognosis of Generative AI in Nigerian Educational Research towards Nascent Sustainable Development

Abstract

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) offers unprecedented research support within the global academic landscape while simultaneously challenging traditional configurations of academic integrity. Over-reliance on GenAI risks inducing cognitive atrophy, potentially rendering years of traditional knowledge acquisition as "intellectual waste." While existing literature indicates an overwhelming willingness among advanced learners to adopt digital innovations, implementation within developing educational systems faces systemic material bottlenecks and the more insidious risk of digital imperialism that threatens to erase local contexts through biased algorithmic models. This study utilizes a transcendental phenomenological design, rooted in the Husserlian traditions operationalized by Giorgi (1985) and Moustakas (1994); to explore how advanced learners subjectively experience this technological encounter. Simple random sampling was used to select three elite specialized institutions within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja: The Gifted School, Gwagwalada; Government Girls Science Secondary School (G.G.S.S.), Kuje; and Government Science and Technical College (G.S.T.C.), Area 3. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with a cohort of 27 academically advanced students. Data were analyzed using the phenomenological concepts of Noema and Noesis to extract the structural essence of their lived experiences. The principal findings reveal that while GenAI accelerates global competitiveness, sustainable educational growth requires balancing automated cognitive offloading with structured human instruction to prevent absolute algorithmic dependency. The study concludes that building localized, decolonized technological architectures is essential to harness GenAI as a driver for national human capital development, positioning indigenous research as a core pillar for achieving nascent sustainable development.