Nationwide Exam Shutdown in China to Combat Student Use of AI during Examinations
In an effort to maintain the integrity of the college entrance exams, known as the Gaokao, Chinese AI companies have temporarily disabled key features on their chatbots that could potentially facilitate cheating.
1. **Feature Disablement**: Major tech firms like Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and Moonshot AI have disabled functions such as photo recognition and real-time question answering on their chatbots during the exam period[1][2][3]. This move aims to prevent students from using AI tools to gain an unfair advantage.
2. **AI Monitoring**: Some regions in China are also employing AI to monitor exam rooms for "abnormal behaviours" such as whispers or repeated glances between students, further enhancing the prevention of cheating[3].
3. **Content Filtering**: ByteDance's Doubao has implemented strict filters to prevent the processing of test materials, ensuring that even if some features remain active, they cannot be used for cheating[2].
4. **Regulatory Compliance**: The coordinated effort across China's tech sector to align with regulatory expectations and maintain the exam's integrity underscores the importance of ethical AI use in education[1][2][3].
The exam period for the Gaokao is a three-day affair, and an estimated 13.3 million students will take the exams this year. The lack of public announcements about these restrictions from AI companies has been noted, with many students expressing frustration about their inability to use AI tools during the exam period.
Despite these restrictions, the use of AI in education continues to grow, offering numerous benefits such as personalised learning and efficient grading. China's balanced approach to AI promotes its educational benefits while ensuring it does not compromise academic integrity.
[1] The shutdown of AI features during exams is primarily being shared by students on social media. [2] AI chatbots inform students that they cannot use certain features during the test period to ensure exam fairness. [3] Some social media posts express concerns about having to use alternative AI tools like ChatGPT. [4] Some testing sites in China are utilizing AI surveillance systems to flag irregular behavior. [5] Chinese AI companies have shut down their AI chatbots during the annual college entrance exams in China. [6] Alibaba's Qwen has blocked photo recognition features related to test questions. [7] The AI surveillance systems are designed to detect actions like students whispering to one another or making repeated glances. [8] Students are not allowed to use their phones or laptops during the testing period. [9] Students are told they are not in compliance with rules if they try to upload an image or ask for help solving an exam question during the test period. [10] ByteDance's Doubao has also blocked photo recognition features for test-related questions. [11] Tencent's Yuanbao has cut access to photo recognition tools entirely during exam hours. [12] DeepSeek AI chatbot has been reported to follow the same practice of disabling photo recognition during exams. [13] Moonshot's Kimi has also cut access to photo recognition tools during exam hours. [14] The exam lasts about nine hours, split across three days. [15] The exam period for the college entrance exams in China, known as "gaokao", is a three-day affair.
- Chinese AI companies, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, Moonshot AI, and others, have temporarily disabled features on their chatbots such as photo recognition and real-time question answering during the Gaokao exam period, aiming to prevent students from using AI tools to cheat.
- In addition to this, some regions in China are using AI to monitor exam rooms for abnormal behaviors, like whispers or repeated glances between students, to further prevent cheating.
- ByteDance's Doubao has implemented strict filters to prevent the processing of test materials, ensuring that even if some features remain active, they cannot be used for cheating.
- The coordinated effort across China's tech sector to disable AI features during the Gaokao and maintain its integrity highlights the importance of ethical AI use in education and general-news discourse on technology.
