China’s most popular AI chatbots, such as Alibaba’s Qwen, have temporary disability features, including picture recognition, to prevent students from cheating on the country’s annual “Gaokao” university entrance exam.
Applications including Yuanbao of Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Kimi of Moonshot have suspended photo recognition services during multi-day exams across the country. When asked for explanation, the chatbot replied: “To ensure fairness of the college entrance exam, this feature cannot be used during the exam.”
China’s infamous “Gaokao” is a national ritual for teenagers and is believed to shape the future of millions of aspiring graduates. Students – and their parents – have any advantages from extensive private tuition to sometimes trying to cheat. To minimize interference, examiners cancel the use of equipment during prolonged tests.
Alibaba Group Holds Co., Ltd.’s Qwen and Bontedance Ltd.’s Doubao still provide photo recognition. However, when asked to answer questions about the photos of the test paper, Qwen replied that the service was temporarily frozen during the exam time from June 7 to 10. DOUPAO said the uploaded photos “does not comply with the rules.”
China lacks a widely adopted university application process as in the United States, in which students demonstrate their qualifications through years of academic records as well as standardized examinations and personal papers. For Chinese high school students, Gaokao held in June each year is usually the only way they can impress admission officials. about 13.4 million Students are taking this year’s exam.
The test is considered the most important test in the United States, especially for small cities and low-income households that lack resources. The mistake may take another year in high school, or completely change the future of a teenager.
The exam is also one of the most strictly controlled exams in China to prevent cheating and ensure fairness. But the rapid development of AI presents new challenges for schools and regulators. The Ministry of Education released last monthA set of regulationsIt points out that while schools should start cultivating AI talents from an early age, students should not use AI-generated content as answers to assignments and exams.
This story was originally fortune.com
