China shuts down AI chatbots and tools across country as it holds college entrance exam
China AI companies have temporarily shut down AI chatbots, or a number of features in them, across the country. The shutdown, which is temporary, is reportedly due to gaokao exam that millions of students are trying so that they can get entry into a college. The Chinese authorities believe that AI tools can be used for cheating during gaokao exam and that has led to AI companies taking this step. advertisementAccording to Bloomberg, many AI companies have suspended their most widely used artificial intelligence tools. The list includes Alibaba's Qwen, Tencent's Yuanbao, ByteDance's Doubao, and Moonshot's Kimi. All these AI tools have switched off their photo-recognition capabilities while the national tests are underway.China is hosting the gaokao exam from June 7 to 10 this year. It is said to be the country's most important academic event, where more than 13.4 million students compete for a limited number of university seats, including for admissions in 147 universities as part of the Double First-Class Construction, with the results often determining their educational and professional futures.
Given the high stakes, Chinese authorities have long implemented strict anti-cheating measures, from banning electronic devices in exam halls to deploying surveillance drones. But with the rise of generative AI, a new concern of potential cheating using AI tools, which are often smart, is rising. advertisementAccording to Bloomberg, AI tools like Yuanbao and Kimi are nowadays showing automated responses that explain their image-related features have been disabled 'to ensure the fairness of the college entrance examinations.' Meanwhile, Doubao, ByteDance's rival chatbot, reportedly still allows image uploads but refuses to answer test-related queries, citing non-compliance with rules. Qwen, Alibaba's bot, similarly refrains reportedly from analysing test papers during exam hours.Earlier the Chinese Ministry of Education released a new framework to manage the integration of generative AI within its primary and secondary school systems. The guidelines prohibited students from independently using artificial intelligence tools that generate open-ended content. The government even asked educators to use AI to complement studies, not replace human-led teaching.Meanwhile, Middle school students are allowed to study how AI content is structured, while high schoolers are allowed to engage in more advanced learning involving AI's underlying technologies. According to a report by China Daily, the 2025 directive, issued by the government's basic education teaching guidance committee, outlines how generative AI such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek can be integrated into primary and secondary education. The guidelines further put strong emphasis on ensuring ethical, age-appropriate use of these technologies, alongside safeguarding against risks like over-dependence, academic dishonesty, and privacy breaches.According to officials these measures are designed to encourage responsible use of AI and ensure the tools support, not replace, teacher-led instruction in schools.
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