Victoria University Vice Chancellor Dr. Lawrence Muganga has pushed back against the growing fear that artificial intelligence (AI) will make people lazy, arguing that those who refuse to embrace the technology could eventually find themselves left behind.
Speaking during an interview on NBS Plus, Muganga compared the current concerns about AI to the doubts people once had about mobile money.
Many people once questioned how they could keep and move money through a phone instead of using physical cash.
Today, mobile money has become part of everyday life.
Of course, some people are going to think that AI will make people lazy. That is the same mindset people had when mobile money came. They used to say, ‘How can I have my money in the air, on the phone? How? I need my paper money.’ Right now, everyone is saying, ‘You have my MM, send it.’
The comparison leads to his bigger point: people may only appreciate AI after they realise how quickly the technology is changing the way others work.
Until this AI thing gets into the minds of people and they see that they are actually being left behind, they are going to appreciate how it works.
That argument becomes particularly blunt when the conversation turns to students.
At Victoria University, Muganga says students who refuse to embrace AI may find themselves better suited to institutions with a different approach.
Actually, a student who is not using AI and who is not ready to use AI, in my view, and at Victoria University, we encourage them to stay where they are. They should go to other institutions. They should not come to Victoria University.
The point, however, is not simply to get students using AI for the sake of it.
Muganga sees the technology as a way of expanding what people can do with their own ideas.
AI makes everyone more creative. You just need to widen your imagination, and AI will put your imagination into practice.
That is why he rejects the idea that AI will automatically make people less creative or less capable.
Instead, he believes the technology can push people towards innovation and better problem-solving, while also creating wider benefits for the economy.
So, they are not going to become lazy. They are going to become more innovative, more creative and better at problem-solving. The economy is the one that is really benefiting.
Has A.I done more harm than Good?@ReachDrMuganga expands on the importance of Artificial.#NBSPlus #BeYou #NBSCampusConnect #Victoriauniversity #mccasmir pic.twitter.com/TIjNGNK8rO
— NBSPlus (@nbsplusug) August 13, 2026