In this year’s university entrance examination in China (known as Gaokao), several provinces and cities in the country have for the first time utilized artificial intelligence (AI) technology to monitor cheating behaviors during the exams, ensuring fairness in the testing process.
Gaokao (高考) is regarded as the most important examination in a student’s life in China, making timely detection of cheating crucial.
Candidates being checked before entering the exam venue – (Photo: VCG).
This year, Guangdong province has implemented a real-time AI system at 386 examination centers for the first time. Leveraging advanced AI technology, the system can detect unusual behaviors such as cheating or copying in real-time by analyzing image and video data in the examination room, promptly sending alerts to the invigilators for further action.
Meanwhile, Hainan province has piloted the use of AI for monitoring and supervising exam centers, allowing for timely detection and warning of disciplinary violations.
The city of Chongqing in Southwest China has also employed an AI system at select exam locations to analyze and study unusual behaviors during the examination.
This year, Beijing has upgraded its smart surveillance system used in the university entrance examination, adding more sensitive monitoring and image recognition capabilities. Actions such as looking back, bending down to pick up items, or communication between invigilators and students will be recorded by the video system, enabling quick identification of suspicious violations by individual candidates.
Additionally, many cities in China have employed radar for navigation, deployed patrolling robots, and utilized drones to assist candidates during this national examination.
Security forces checking candidate documents during the university entrance exam on June 7 – (Photo: SCMP).
Analysts note that while AI technology cannot fully replace human supervision, it can help protect the fairness of the university entrance examination and alleviate pressure on invigilators.
With the continuous development of AI technology, many other technologies will be applied in university entrance examinations to minimize or even eliminate cheating behaviors.
