In a classroom for a computer science exam at the University of Salamanca, Professor Javier Blanco walked the halls with headphones on. “It made me a little angry,” thought student Víctor Funcia as he looked at him, “this man here listening to the radio while we are taking the exam.” But Blanco didn’t hear any stations. I was trying to receive a very specific radio signal.. And suddenly it happened: “I got an adrenaline rush,” remembers Blanco.
Someone He dictated the exam answers over the phone and a student in the classroom listened to them through an earpiece. Blanco connected the signal to a speaker and the whole class heard the answers. No suspected perpetrator flinched. The headset couldn’t be seen with the naked eye: it was a Nanopenguin like the head of a nail that fits into the ear, next to the eardrum. It is so small that it requires a magnet to remove. There wasn’t one person with these earbuds, but three who showed up later.
Although the scene occurred this summer, these types of devices were already in use before the pandemic. In 2019, some professors from the Polytechnic University of Valencia wrote a scientific article explaining how to make a detector: “I’m glad that my work was useful,” one of these professors, Ismael Ripoll, says now. “We used the copy detector for a while. We had our suspicions. Maybe our students didn’t copy or used more rudimentary methods. In the end we didn’t catch anyone.”
Blanco used his instructions to build his detector. In 2024, EL PAÍS published the case of a teacher from a Madrid institute who had also carried out such a case at the same time. However, there is a fundamental difference between the 2019 cases and these more recent ones: the artificial intelligence. There is no longer a need outside the classroom for there to be an expert who knows the answers. A family member or friend may receive the photo of the exam that the student sends to them. He uploads it to ChatGPT and reads her answers on the phone.
There are dozens of videos on networks with millions of views that explain how this device works, which can be easily purchased on the Internet: “I don’t know how long the battery of the device will last. In order not to take any risks, I recommend putting a new battery if you want to spend a few hours studying for exams,” says a review of the Pingaoculto on Amazon, which costs 42.99 euros. There are devices with a microphone and most require a repeater that must be worn around the neck, on a ring or in a pen. There’s a lot to choose from and according to one teacher, they can even be rented.
It is not the only challenge facing Spanish university exams. “We have a big problem,” says José Juan López, vice-rector for students at the Miguel Hernández University (Elche). “And we can’t do anything because the technology is very difficult to detect and regulate. And I’m talking about exams, I’m not telling anything about jobs,” he adds.
It is a problem that has several levels: First, the unstoppable advance of technology. The earpiece already exists, but glasses, watches and pens are making inroads, with increasingly discreet devices having a greater ability to solve questions and problems. Mobile phones are already banned, but in large classrooms they can creep in, or even in centers where one can be confiscated during the exam, there are those who can carry a second device. AI can solve test questions without having learned anything at all. At least to prepare the material to be copied, you first had to take some time to know what was coming in. “Many people are increasingly looking for a quick solution,” says Laura, head of the language department at the San Roque Academy in Tenerife. “Now they don’t want to make even the slightest effort. Laziness has become more common lately. They find it difficult to even understand ChatGPT and they ask you to give them a summary of the summary,” he adds.
Second, cheating can become so easy that it no longer just helps you pass a difficult exam, but even earns you full grades. There is a problem that mainly affects classmates, as it can affect competition for a scholarship or a better grade to get into college. In the University of Salamanca example, the subject in which they were caught was “not one of the most difficult in the course,” says Funcia, a student at the university, adding: “One wonders why they copy when they do it in subjects that are easy to pass by reading the syllabus. I don’t know if increasing the penalty would make people stop copying. The grading system indirectly promotes this competitiveness, it is an individualistic classification.”
As major changes are made to the rating system, With the advent of AI in the testing world, teachers are encountering the third major problem: sanctions. The punishment system for a cheater or a snitch may be useless for this kind of sophistication. According to the current law, which was amended in 2023 and applies to all universities, cheating on an exam is a serious crime. This allows the offender to be suspended for a maximum of two calls this year and to be expelled from the university for 30 days, although he can take an exam on those days. “The penalty is zero,” says Rodrigo Santamaría from the University of Salamanca. “We are convinced that if a student wants to copy, they will copy anyway.”
This type of regime faces the difficulty of detecting, reporting and proving these misadventures. “You talk to a child and ask him if he has an earpiece and you say, ‘No, you should prove it,’” says José Ángel Contreras, head of the inspection service at the University of Burgos.
In several conversations this newspaper has with other universities There is a feeling that it is happening more than it seems, but there is no certainty. It’s all very new. Apparently, this isn’t just a Spanish problem either: “In my class, two boys copied the exam and looked for answers with meta-glasses. When we told the teachers that they had done everything,” a medical student at the University of Padua told Italian media.
There would only be one real option for an immediate solutionsays López from Miguel Hernández University: “Frequency jammers. But at the moment they are illegal, only the police can use them.” I remember telling the priest about it at dinner and he didn’t even get wet.
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