Among the almost 10 million students taking nationwide college entrance exams in China this week was an artificial intelligence program. The tests also saw authorities deploy facial recognition and drones, in an effort to clamp down on high-tech cheating.
The exam, colloquially known as the ‘gaokao’ in China, was held over Wednesday and Thursday across most of the country. According to Xinhua, a total of 9.4 million Chinese high school students applied this year, a little less than the record 10.5 million in 2008.
The fierily competitive exam is considered one of the most important steps in the life of anyone wishing to have a successful white-collar career in China.
This year however, the exam was taken by an unusual candidate: an artificial intelligence algorithm. Called AI-MATHS and running on 11 servers with no internet connection, the robot was built by Zhunxingyunxue Technology. The Chengdu-based company is participating in a government-sponsored project, which by 2020 aims to develop software capable of passing the exam with a grade high enough to qualify for admission to one of nation’s best universities.
AI-MATHS didn’ t take the entire gaokao test, though, which includes the Chinese language, mathematics, a foreign language and a subject of the candidate’s choice. Instead, the machine solved only the math tests prepared by the education authorities in various provinces of China.
