Alibaba, Tencent Freeze AI Tools are currently undergoing High Stakes China Exam
China’s most popular AI chatbots like Alibaba’s Qwen have temporary impairment features including image recognition to prevent students from cheating on the country’s annual “Gaokao” college entrance exam.
Yuanbao from Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Kimi from Moonshot have stopped their photo recognition services during the hours of several days of exams nationwide. Asked to explain, the chatbot responded: “To ensure fairness in university entrance exams, this feature cannot be used during the test period.”
China’s infamous, strict “gakao” is a ritual of passage for teenagers across the country and is thought to shape the future of millions of ambitious alumni. Students and their parents drive out every edge stop they can get, from widespread private tuition fees to occasionally attempting to cheate. To minimize disruptions, examiners prohibit the use of the device during long tests.
Qwen from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Doubao from Bytedance Ltd. are still offering photo certifications as of Monday. However, when asked to answer questions about photos from the test paper, Qwen responded that the service had been temporarily frozen during the exam hours from June 7th to 10th. Doubao said the uploaded photos “does not comply with the rules.”
China does not have a widely adopted university application process like the US. Students have proven their qualifications through years of academic records, along with standardized tests and personal essays. For Chinese high school seniors, Gaokao, held every June, is often the only way they can impress the admissions staff. About 13.4 million Students are taking part in this year’s exam.
The test is considered the most important part of the country, especially for people in resource-lacking small cities and low-income families. Misstep can require another year in high school or completely change the future of a teenager.
This exam is also one of the most strictly controlled in China to prevent fraud and ensure fairness. However, rapidly developing AI has posed new challenges for schools and regulators. The Ministry of Education announced last monthA set of regulationsSchools should begin to develop talent for artificial intelligence at an early age, but students say that they should not use AI-generated content as homework or test answers.
This story was originally introduced Fortune.com