The Pandemic That Changed Everything
Ah, COVID-19—the great technological accelerator that catapulted us years, if not decades, into the future. As someone wrapping up high school when lockdown hit, the entire school experience flipped overnight.
Gone were the early mornings, bus rides, and classroom daydreams. My new routine? Rolling out of bed, logging into Zoom half-conscious, and cursing the WiFi connection. Google became my best friend—Forms quizzes were a joke, and “Googling your way through exams” became a survival skill.
When ChatGPT arrived, cheating—or as some like to say, “strategic information acquisition”—hit a whole new level.
AI: The New Player in Academic Dishonesty
AI made cheating almost a team sport. Ethics? Optional. If everyone’s doing it, then technically no one’s cheating, right? Educators began fighting fire with fire—feeding student essays into AI to check if another AI wrote them. It’s become an AI deathmatch.
When AI Becomes the Examiner
Ironically, if you’re not using AI to monitor exams, you’re probably letting AI run them. Many online tests today are automatically generated, graded, and even reviewed for plagiarism or AI-generated responses.
So, is it still a human-run exam—or just a bot-led bureaucratic ritual?
The Case for a Hybrid Model
Instead of relying solely on AI, institutions should combine live human proctoring with AI oversight. Human proctors can catch subtle behaviors—off-screen glances, whispers, or note-checking—while AI detects irregular typing, unauthorized devices, or background sounds.
This hybrid approach focuses AI on real threats while humans ensure context and fairness.
The Future of Academic Integrity
Without oversight, online exams are basically an honor system—and we know how that ends. Institutions clinging to outdated security measures are giving students a free pass to cheat.
No webcam? No live proctor? No AI scanning? Then you’re not testing knowledge—you’re hosting an open-book group project.
So students, if you’re going to cheat, at least prompt properly. And teachers, if you’re hoping for gratitude after two days crafting that test—don’t hold your breath.