In a bold move that’s got tech enthusiasts and students buzzing, China pulled the plug on major AI chatbots during the 2025 Gaokao, the country’s infamously high-stakes college entrance exam. From June 7 to 10, heavy hitters like Alibaba’s Qwen, Tencent’s Yuanbao, ByteDance’s Doubao, Moonshot’s Kimi, and even DeepSeek were forced to disable key features like photo-recognition, all in the name of preventing cheating. But is this a masterstroke for fairness or a step backward in the AI age? Let’s dive into the chaos.
The Gaokao isn’t just a test; it’s a cultural juggernaut. With over 13.4 million students vying for university spots, this exam is the ultimate gatekeeper to social mobility, especially for rural and underprivileged kids. Unlike Western systems where essays and extracurriculars can tip the scales, China’s admissions hinge almost entirely on raw Gaokao scores, as reported by India Today. So, when the Ministry of Education flagged AI tools as potential cheating aids—thanks to their scarily good ability to process exam questions via image recognition—they hit the kill switch hard. As Bloomberg notes, users trying to access these features during exam hours were greeted with messages about “ensuring fairness.”
Ironically, with disabled AI tools for students, some provinces utilized AI to ramp up anti-cheating measures with AI monitoring systems to detect abnormal behaviors like whispering during exams. This shows just how seriously China takes exam integrity. However, not everyone was on board with the blanket restrictions. Some students voiced frustration on social media, unable to use AI tools even for non-exam queries during the period, highlighting the inconvenience of such widespread shutdowns.
On one hand, the ban makes sense. Disabling AI during testing hours levels the playing field, ensuring scores reflect a student’s real grit, not their tech savvy. It’s a win for public trust in a system that shapes millions of futures, and it pushes kids to flex their critical thinking muscles. But let’s not pretend this is all sunshine and honor rolls. Outside the exam hall, unequal access to AI tools can still deepen the digital divide, leaving some students behind in a world where tech skills are currency. And with AI becoming a workplace norm, restricting exposure might kneecap future readiness.
Then there’s the bigger question: does this obsession with exam purity reinforce China’s rote-learning culture at the expense of creativity? Critics argue that while AI misuse is a problem, a blanket ban might stifle the kind of innovative thinking tech is supposed to inspire. The Ministry of Education has made it clear they’re all for AI in education—just not in tests or homework. It’s a tightrope walk between fostering tech progress and protecting sacred systems like the Gaokao.
So, where does this leave us? China’s AI shutdown during the 2025 Gaokao isn’t just a headline; it’s a clash of technology and tradition, fairness and future-proofing. For now, the message is loud: no matter how powerful AI gets, the integrity of life-defining exams comes first. But as tech evolves, how long can this cat-and-mouse game last?
Cover image via Sixth Tone.
