Cheating incidents involving AI-enabled smart glasses during college entrance exams at Yonsei University and Seoul City University have raised alarms in the academic community. The Ministry of Education has urgently distributed guidelines for identifying smart glasses to universities, but officials express concerns about the limitations of visual inspections.
University admissions officials believe that the recent cheating incidents are just the beginning. They are particularly worried about the transfer exams scheduled for January, where students are generally older and more financially capable, increasing the likelihood of organized cheating using advanced AI devices.
According to universities, the emergence of new cheating methods using AI smart glasses has prompted admissions offices to seek solutions. On October 13, the Ministry of Education sent a document to universities outlining 'guidelines for identifying smart glasses and related responses.' However, universities are struggling to find effective measures due to the lack of technical validation for detection apps.
"Switching Glasses Mid-Exam Leaves Us Helpless... This Year, We Rely on Visual Checks"
Admissions teams at universities in the Seoul metropolitan area have voiced their challenges after receiving the Ministry's guidelines. An official from a university in Seoul stated, "We are preparing notices based on the cases from Yonsei and City University, but it is difficult to catch students who switch from regular glasses to smart glasses during the exam. We are developing internal guidelines that will consider switching glasses during the exam as cheating."
Currently, the introduction of detection technology for advanced devices seems distant. While free apps that detect electromagnetic waves from smart glasses are available, universities find it challenging to implement them in exam settings due to unclear legal boundaries and the need for technical validation.
An official from another university noted, "We are considering the use of the free app that detects electromagnetic waves, but we believe we are not at the commercialization stage yet, as the university would need to purchase the devices and test their functionality. Moreover, there are no clear guidelines regarding legal violations when using the app, so we are left with no choice but to rely on visual inspections for this year's entrance exams."
Sharing Information on Cheaters is Not Possible... "A System to Prevent Applications to Other Universities is Needed"
The lenient penalties for detected cheating and the lack of information sharing between universities have also been criticized. While universities include a clause in their admission guidelines stating that students caught cheating at their institution or others will be barred from applying for up to three years, there is currently no system in place for sharing lists of cheaters between universities.
An official from one university remarked, "If a student is caught using smart glasses at one university, the perception that they can simply apply to another university undermines efforts to eradicate cheating. It is urgent for the Ministry of Education or the Korean Council for University Education to establish a system for sharing information on cheaters to prevent applications to other universities."
The Real Concern is the 'Transfer Exam'... "Students' Financial Capability Raises Fears of High-Cost AI Devices"
Admissions offices are more apprehensive about the transfer exams set to begin in January than the recent entrance exams. Transfer students tend to be older and more financially stable, increasing the likelihood of organized cheating using expensive AI devices.
An official from one university stated, "Transfer exams primarily focus on English tests, and the financial capabilities of transfer students are significantly different from those of high school students, making it easier for them to purchase high-cost equipment like AI glasses. By January, AI glasses technology will likely have advanced further, and we believe the transfer exam will be the biggest challenge, prompting our university to focus on preparations in this area."
Another official from a different university echoed this concern, stating, "Historically, there have been more attempts at cheating during transfer exams, and they are more challenging to control. We hope that detection apps will soon be commercialized, especially for national exams, and spread to universities, but we currently lack effective measures ahead of the transfer exams, which is frustrating."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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