A YouTuber has developed a cheating tool that permits students to cheat on exams by connecting an everyday calculator to the web and connecting it to OpenAI’s ‘ChatGPT’.
Tom’s Hardware reported on the twenty second (local time) that a YouTuber named ChromaRock released a video of a cheating device he created by modifying a Texas Instruments ‘TI-84’ graphics calculator.
ChromaLock described the device, generally known as the TI-32, as “the last word cheating device” that was virtually indistinguishable from the TI-84 calculator, which was released greater than a decade ago and still dominates the academic market.
The TI-32 emulates a TI-84 using an ESP32 C3 microcontroller, making it appear as a TI-84, and connects to the Web via Wi-Fi. This permits users to access ChatGPT, enter complex math problems, or browse the online to get answers.
(Video = Chroma Lock)
ChromaLock purchased electronic components, including an ESP32-C3 microcontroller, and built a PCB to suit the TI-84. It also developed custom software for the microcontroller and calculator, which allows users to simply download a launcher program that provides them access to varied applets designed for cheating.
Certainly one of the applets is a ChatGPT interface that is beneficial for answering short questions. As well as, the device offers several other cheating tools. The image browser allows users to access pre-prepared visual aids stored on a central server. The app browser function allows students to download text-based cheat sheets disguised as program source code, in addition to games for post-test entertainment.
Since the launcher program might be downloaded on demand, it can not be detected even when the teacher checks or clears the calculator’s memory before a test. This permits the TI-32 to simply bypass common anti-cheating measures.
ChromaLock has released the TI-32’s hardware design and software online, emphasizing that “the TI-32 was created for educational purposes, to not encourage academic cheating.”
Reporter Park Chan cpark@aitimes.com
