IT·Science News

South Korea to prosecute exam cheats using AI glasses: can proctors even spot them?

South Korea will file criminal complaints against students caught cheating on the national university entrance exam with smart glasses and will toughen penalties for their use, a government official has said, according to the South China Morning Post, which reports that prosecutions will apply from 2027. Smart glasses let wearers take photos and video and talk to an AI assistant, and the SCMP notes a growing backlash, including over people being filmed without consent.

The rules were already tightening. Korea JoongAng Daily reported on 15 October that wearing AI glasses during the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) voids that year’s score and bars the student from the next year’s test, and that simply having them in the exam room also voids the exam. Recent cases were caught at a TOEIC exam in May and at essay exams at Yonsei University and the University of Seoul.

The Korea Times reported that proctors will check every test-taker who wears glasses before each session, but that radio-frequency detectors are unlikely to be ready for this year’s CSAT. One Yonsei applicant reportedly swapped ordinary glasses for AI glasses after the test had started.

How each outlet framed it

• South China Morning Post — the crackdown: criminal complaints, as part of a wider backlash against smart glasses.
• Korea JoongAng Daily — the rulebook: what counts as cheating and what it costs a student.
• The Korea Times — the people enforcing it: teachers say visual checks are unreliable because the devices look like ordinary eyewear, and a teachers’ union launched a petition for more inspection staff.

What we don't know yet: how proctors will reliably detect the glasses before detectors are ready.