A Turkish university candidate was recently arrested after being caught using an AI-powered system to obtain answers to the entrance exam in real-time.

On June 8th, thousands of high school graduates took the Basic Proficiency Test (TYT), the first session of the Higher Education Institutions Examination (YKS) in Isparta, but one incident made international news headlines. One candidate, referred to only by the initials M.E.E. by Turkish media, was reportedly caught cheating using an ingenious system involving an internet connection, a concealed camera, and an AI-powered software that could read the questions on the test and provide answers in real-time. Unfortunately, the man’s behavior during the test attracted the supervisors’ attention and upon closer inspection, his cheating method was discovered.

Photo: Isparta Police Department

Turkey’s AA news agency recently reported the case of what is considered the first use of artificial intelligence in a university entrance exam. Although the full details of the system used by M.E.E. are yet to be disclosed, the Isparta Police Department announced that the man had concealed a small router in the lining of his sneakers in order to get past the control point at the entrance of the exam hall, as well as a small smartphone disguised as a credit card holder, a high-definition camera disguised as a shirt button, and a small headset in his ear.

It is unclear how supervisors caught M.E.E. cheating, but Turkish media outlets reported that he was asking ‘suspiciously’. Upon finding the headset in his ear, supervisors escorted him out of the exam hall and handed him over to the police. A thorough search revealed that the headset and the small camera were connected to a smartphone, which was in turn connected to an AI-powered system that could read the questions on the test and then provide the correct answer via the headset.

Photo: Isparta Police Department

The AI service used by M.E.E. was not disclosed by police, but some news outlets suggested that it was a platform powered by ChatGPT. One thing is for sure though, M.E.E. now faces jail time, as cheating on university exams is considered a serious offense in Turkey. He will also be banned from taking another university entrance exam for at least two years.

This isn’t the first time someone used technology to cheat on important exams, but, to our knowledge, it is the first case of AI use.