Feature · AI glasses and exams

AI glasses got a third-tier math score in 30 minutes: six days before Korea's college exam, test centers are fighting eyewear

"Gamst put on AI glasses, did the math section, and scored a grade 2. Insane." That X post on Nov. 12 drew more than 2,300 likes. The AI glasses controversy, sparked by suspicions around a top scorer on Korea's tax accountant exam, has now reached classrooms and test centers ahead of the Nov. 19 CSAT. A broadcast reporter solved last year's exam with AI glasses, and the Education Ministry is posting dedicated staff at every center. We read the videos, articles and posts to see how well the glasses work and what is changing.

1. A reporter tried it: 78 in math, in 30 minutes

   EBS reporter Keum Chang-ho wore AI glasses to solve last year's CSAT math, 30 common and calculus questions. The glasses photograph the page and a generative AI solves it; in about 30 minutes he missed six and scored 78, a grade 3 by last year's cutoffs. Simple formula questions went smoothly, but word problems with conditions tripped it up: "The function and conditions are blurry and can't be read accurately."

2. English reading in 10 minutes; 10 of 14 wrong in Korean

   In the same test, 28 English reading questions took under 10 minutes and lost 11 points, a grade 2 level. Korean was different: long passages didn't fit in one frame, producing answers like "passage (B) is not on screen, so I can't judge," and after missing 10 of 14 it stopped. After about 30 minutes the battery was in the 30% range. Kim Kang-hee of ETRI said most AI glasses relay what they see to a nearby phone or PC, which gets the answer from a large AI model.

3. Commenters: 'Use a pricier model and it's a grade 1'

   Many commenters on the EBS video (18,000+ views) thought the result undersold the threat. "They deliberately used a Chinese brand. Meta got 96, a grade 1, in 15 minutes" was the top comment with 58 likes, followed by "You need an expensive model to get a perfect score" (34). On X, a post said a YouTuber solved 30 questions in about 18 minutes with AI glasses and scored 96. These are claims by the posters, not results re-run under the same conditions.

4. It started with a lone 100 on the tax accountant exam

   The controversy ignited on the tax accountant exam. Tax accountant Lee Ryong-kwon posted that of 3,050 first-round passers this year, "zero scored in the 90s in tax law and one scored in the 80s, yet the national top scorer alone got 100," drawing about 1,100 likes. MBC reported that the exam administrator began checking the facts after suspicions that the score was implausible given the difficulty. No cheating has been confirmed.

5. Just wearing them voids the test and bans you for a year

   This year's CSAT is the first to list AI glasses as banned items. Per EBS, simply wearing them voids the exam and suspends eligibility for a year, so the student cannot sit next year's test; anyone who brings them must hand them in before the first period. Authorities have posted AI specialists at every center and trained them. Korea JoongAng Daily reported that President Lee Jae Myung ordered countermeasures and that the government is considering criminal penalties and bans of up to three years.

6. What about students in ordinary glasses?

   A JoongAng Ilbo editorial writer noted that even families with no intention to cheat worry ordinary frames will draw suspicion on exam day. Under Channel A's report (21,994 views), commenters asked "why only glasses? The AI chips in glasses are in every other small gadget too" (7 likes) and urged authorities to hand proctors photos of the AI glasses on the market.

7. Pushback: 'answers don't just pop out'

   Others say the glasses are no magic wand. One X user relayed a review that you have to hold the paper squarely in view and accuracy is only 30% to 60%: "I thought the answers just popped out, but that's not it," drawing about 700 likes. In the EBS test, too, long passages and text shot from a distance were unreadable. Replies noted results vary widely by model and device.

8. No glasses needed: 170 of 240 high schoolers used AI

   AI cheating is growing outside exam halls too. According to The Korea Daily, a high school in Seoul's Yangcheon district ordered a full retake of a Korean literature assessment after about 170 of 240 students were found to have used AI. A teacher ran an AI detector after tips from students, and when about 10 came forward voluntarily the scale became clear.