Latest news with #ChunginLee
Gizmodo
16-05-2025
- Gizmodo
It's Breathtaking How Fast AI Is Screwing Up the Education System
The AI industry has promised to 'disrupt' large parts of society, and you need look no further than the U.S. educational system to see how effectively it's done that. Education has been 'disrupted,' alright. In fact, the disruption is so broad and so shattering that it's not clear we're ever going to have a functional society again. Probably the most unfortunate and pathetic snapshot of the current chaos being unfurled on higher education is a recent story by New York magazine that revealed the depths to which AI has already intellectually addled an entire generation of college students. The story, which involves interviews with a host of current undergraduates, is full of anecdotes like the one that involves Chungin 'Roy' Lee, a transfer to Columbia University who used ChatGPT to write the personal essay that got him through the door: When he started at Columbia as a sophomore this past September, he didn't worry much about academics or his GPA. 'Most assignments in college are not relevant,' he told me. 'They're hackable by AI, and I just had no interest in doing them.' While other new students fretted over the university's rigorous core curriculum, described by the school as 'intellectually expansive' and 'personally transformative,' Lee used AI to breeze through with minimal effort. When I asked him why he had gone through so much trouble to get to an Ivy League university only to off-load all of the learning to a robot, he said, 'It's the best place to meet your co-founder and your wife.' The cynical view of America's educational system—that it is merely a means by which privileged co-eds can make the right connections, build 'social capital,' and get laid—is obviously on full display here. If education isn't actually about learning anything, and is merely a game for the well-to-do, why not rig that game as quickly, efficiently, and cynically as possible? AI capitalizes on this cynical worldview, exploiting the view-holder and making them stupider while also profiting from them. When you think about the current assault on the educational system, it's easy to forget how quickly this has all happened. A more recent story from 404 Media shows that the American educational system was largely caught unawares by the deluge of cheating that the AI industry would inspire. After accumulating thousands of pages of school district documents via FOIA requests from around the country, 404's Jason Koebler found that ChatGPT has 'become one of the biggest struggles in American education.' Koebler's reporting notes that, in the early days of the AI deluge, school districts were courted by 'pro-AI consultants' who were known to give presentations that 'largely encouraged teachers to use generative AI in their classrooms.' For instance, Koebler writes that the Louisiana Department of Education sent him… …a presentation it said it consulted called 'ChatGPT and AI in Education,' made by Holly Clark, the author of The AI Infused Classroom , Ken Shelton, the author of The Promises and Perils of AI in Education , and Matt Miller, the author of AI for Educators . The presentation includes slides that say AI 'is like giving a computer a brain so it can learn and make decisions on its own,' note that 'it's time to rethink 'plagiarism' and 'cheating,'' alongside a graph of how students can use AI to help them write essays, '20 ways to use ChatGPT in the classroom,' and 'Warning: Going back to writing essays—only in class—can hurt struggling learners and doesn't get our kids ready for their future.' In other words, AI acolytes seemed to anticipate that the technology would effectively ruin essay-writing and test-taking, and wanted to spin it to present the ruination as mere 'transformation'—a new way of doing things—instead of a destructive force that would devastate education. This new way of doing things appears to be corrosive not just to students but also to teachers. Koebler's investigation shows that the AI lobbyists courted schools by making appeals to instructors, showing them that the likes of ChatGPT would make curriculum-building and assignment-giving that much easier. Now, teachers, too, seem to be taking the easy way out, as a recent New York Times story shows that college professors have been using chatbots to create their lesson plans, just as their students are using them to complete said lesson. The result of all of this is so obvious that it doesn't really bare repeating but I guess I'll repeat it anyways: Everybody who uses AI is going to get exponentially stupider, and the stupider they get, the more they'll need to use AI to be able to do stuff that they were previously able to do with their minds. The tech industry's subscriber-based, 'as-a-service' model is obviously on full display here, except that the subscription will be to intellectual capacity. The more you subscribe, the less 'organic' capacity you'll have. Eventually, companies will be able to pipe AI directly into your brain with the kind of neuro-implants being hawked by Neuralink and Apple. By then, of course, there will be no need for school, as we'll all just be part of the Borg collective.
Times
25-04-2025
- Times
The AI tool to help you ‘cheat on everything'
Using artificial intelligence to cheat in a job interview got Chungin Lee kicked out of Columbia University. Mere weeks later, he has raised more than $5 million toward a startup to level the playing field — with an AI tool that promises to help anyone 'cheat on everything'. Cluely is an undetectable desktop app that scans text and audio to generate answers during live conversations. Unlike ChatGPT, which searches the internet for data, Cluely analyses only information available on users' computer screens. Lee, 21, Cluely's co-founder, described the app as a virtual companion that 'knows everything about you, sees what you see, hears what you hear'. The San Francisco-based startup has raised $5.3 million from venture capital firms, and attracted about 70,000 users who pay
India Today
23-04-2025
- Business
- India Today
Man suspended for 'cheating' builds AI firm to do it better, gets Rs 44.3 crore fund
A Columbia University student who faced suspension for building an AI tool to cheat tech interviews has now raised millions to expand the idea into something even bigger and bolder. Chungin Lee, a 21-year-old computer science student, who made headlines for creating an AI-based tool that quietly helped users ace LeetCode-style questions in real-time during coding interviews, said he has secured funding of $5.3 million (Rs 44.3 crore approximately). advertisementHis AI tool, Interview Coder, was designed to help students while running invisibly during live assessments for companies like Amazon, Meta, and TikTok. Unsurprisingly, the stunt didn't go well with the industry. Lee was suspended by Columbia, blacklisted by Amazon, and branded a 'cheater' online. But instead of backing down, he doubled up. He turned the backlash into momentum. Lee launched Cluely, an AI startup that offers users silent, in-browser support for everything from exams to sales calls to job interviews. Think of it as a whispering AI that never gets caught, at least that's the pitch. Lee had a message for those who called it unethical as he announced securing $5.3 million in pre-seed funding. In a post on X, Lee said, "$5 million to change the definition of the word 'cheating'."advertisementHe reposted a post by X handle of his firm, which reads, "They called calculators cheating. They called Google cheating. The world will say the same about AI. We're not stopping. Just raised a $5.3M pre-seed to build the future - faster." Lee had earlier said that he was kicked out of Columbia and blacklisted by Amazon four weeks after he launched Interview Coder. He was told by those around him to quit his plan to expand his AI tool. Lee narrated the entire incident in a series of posts on X. I just got kicked out of Columbia for taking a stand against Leetcode the whole story (long thread): Roy (@im_roy_lee) March 27, 2025While several users call it cheating, Chungin Lee calls it changing the rules. And with millions now backing his idea, he's made it clear that he's not here to play by the old rules. Trending Reel
Hindustan Times
23-04-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Suspended from Columbia, student raises $5 million for AI cheating tool: ‘The world will say…'
A Columbia University student, who was suspended for creating an AI tool to cheat in coding interviews to secure summer internships at tech giants like Amazon, Meta, TikTok and more, has raised $5.3 million in funding for what he called "changing the definition of cheating." 21-year-old Chungin Lee who goes by Roy Lee built an AI tool named Interview Coder, an invisible application which offered real-time assistance to software engineers in technical interviews that used LeetCode. After his tool went viral on social media for effectively fooling the biggest tech companies, Lee faced flak from Meta and Amazon and was eventually suspended from Columbia. However, he doubled down and created Cluely, an AI tool that helps users 'cheat on everything' including interviews, exams, and sales calls through hidden in-browser windows. Hitting back at those who labelled the startup as a means of cheating at interviews, the company shared the news of securing their new multi-million funding with a message. "They called calculators cheating. They called Google cheating. The world will say the same about AI. We're not stopping. Cluely just raised a $5.3M pre-seed to build the future — faster," it read. Lee said four weeks after he launched Interview Coder, he was kicked out of Columbia and blacklisted by Amazon and was told by those around him to quit his plan to expand his AI tool. "Everyone in my life told me to quit, but I ignored all advice and kept going. I've since come to learn that you really need to swing big if you ever wanna make it. Hope this resonates with some of you. This mentality is what inspired me to build Cluely, the ultimate end-state of Interview Coder, and something I never would've thought I could build six months ago. This is the most ambitious project I will ever work on," he declared on X. (Also read: Columbia student creates AI tool to easily land offers from Amazon, Meta, TikTok and more)
Hindustan Times
22-04-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
AI startup that lets you ‘cheat' in interviews and exams gets $5.3 million boost
Cluely, a new AI startup founded by 21-year-old Chungin Lee, has secured $5.3 million in funding from Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures. The startup is attracting attention for its bold positioning as an AI-powered tool that helps users 'cheat on everything.' As the name suggests, the AI tool offers real-time, hidden assistance during job interviews, exams, and sales calls. It provides answers via a concealed in-browser window that remains invisible to others, including interviewers and proctors. Cluely's origin story is as unconventional as its product. Lee, a former Columbia University student, went viral on X (formerly Twitter) after revealing he was suspended from the university for co-creating an earlier version of the tool. Named Interview Coder, it was built to assist software engineers in passing technical interviews using covert AI support. Rather than derail his ambitions, the suspension served as a launchpad. Lee and his co-founder expanded their idea into Cluely, a San Francisco-based company aiming to scale this AI-based assistance to broader scenarios beyond job interviews. In its online manifesto, the startup argues that tools like Cluely represent the next logical step in human-computer collaboration. However, the comparison is drawing mixed reactions, with critics warning that the tool encourages deception in professional and academic settings. Cluely released a launch video featuring Lee using the tool during a date to falsely claim knowledge about art and his own age. The video, though polished, has sparked debate over the company's ethical stance and approach to marketing. Some have called it a sharp satire of modern AI use, while others see it as normalising dishonesty. You can watch the video below. Despite the polarising premise, Cluely's ability to attract top-tier venture funding highlights continued investor interest in AI applications, even those that push ethical boundaries.
