On June 7th, the first day of the college entrance examination (Gaokao) in China, 13.42 million people participated. This year, authorities implemented for the first time an AI (Artificial Intelligence) monitoring system to prevent cheating during the exam. However, the public has raised doubts about the effectiveness of this method, citing concerns about excessive monitoring of students and teachers. Tech-savvy netizens have exposed various imperfections in the system, pointing out numerous minor flaws that could lead to potential misjudgments.
The first day of the Gaokao in China saw a total of 13.42 million people registered for the exam nationwide. According to reports from Chinese media outlets such as CCTV and China Business News, an AI monitoring system was introduced for the first time in the examination halls this year.
This system utilizes deep learning of abnormal behaviors in various types of exams, analyzing and capturing examinees’ movements in monitoring videos, rapidly and efficiently identifying various common abnormal behaviors such as peeping, standing up, passing suspicious items, holding suspicious objects, placing hands under the desk, and continuing to answer questions after the exam time has ended. In real-time, intelligent snapshots are taken and abnormal images along with corresponding videos are automatically sent to the review end for manual assessment by invigilators.
Some netizens have questioned this approach.
“Cold fact… AI not only monitors students but also invigilators. Students can still answer questions inside it, but teachers cannot sit for long periods, cannot walk around continuously, cannot stay in one place for an extended period, cannot speak, cannot read, they are essentially confined…” “Ensuring the privacy and security of examinees is needed, excessive monitoring should be avoided.”
Some believe that the uncontrollable abnormal behavior samples could lead to issues. For instance, leg shaking. “This seems unrealistic, some people naturally shake their legs. One shake for A, two shakes for B, three shakes for C.” “What if I have a natural leg-shaking habit?” “Writing while shaking, it’s the company of my nervousness about time.
Furthermore, some netizens have expressed doubts about this move, saying it “feels unreliable.”
“The precondition is mature training, and there should be no company manipulation behind the scenes.” “Cold fact, a single exam easily costs three to four hundred yuan in AI monitoring, in some areas it’s as high as five to six hundred yuan for invigilation, you can’t make this kind of money in jail.”
Additionally, netizens suspected to be involved in related technology revealed that there are many loopholes in this system.
“The system is incomplete, with many small bugs, trying to debug this system during this time is truly a headache.” “It can only serve as a reference aid, as misjudgments are definitely not uncommon.” “As a technical personnel on-site tomorrow, I have to ensure the equipment… I’m starting to panic.”
This year’s Gaokao marks the first time the number of participants has surpassed 13 million since the resumption of the exam in 1977. There are approximately 4.13 million re-registered students, accounting for nearly a third of the total candidates. This year’s Gaokao has been dubbed the “toughest in history” and may become the most ruthless one ever.