Why have many AI tools in China been unusable for the past 4 days?

(Dan Tri) - From June 7 to 10, Internet users in China were unable to access popular domestic AI tools such as DeepSeek, Yuanbao, Duobao... What is the reason behind this?

ChatGPT, Gemini are "banned", domestic AI is also temporarily suspended

Users in China have been unable to access domestic AI tools in recent days (Photo: Getty).

The Chinese government currently bans globally famous AI chatbot tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok... Instead, Chinese technology companies have developed their own AI tools specifically for domestic users, such as Alibaba's Qwen, ByteDance's Duobao, Tencent's Yuanbao or DeepSeek...

This is because Beijing is concerned that Western-developed AI tools could provide answers that violate the country's content censorship policies.

However, in recent days, users in China have also been unable to access domestic AI tools, since June 7. This is because this is the time when the National University Entrance Exam, also known as Gaokao, begins.

Popular AI tools in China were simultaneously disabled during the exam period, from June 7 to 10. This is a move to ensure fairness and prevent cheating in the exam, such as leaking exam questions and using AI tools to help solve exam questions...

AI monitoring system helps promptly detect cheating behaviors during the gaokao (Photo: TG).

AI is banned but is used for exam monitoring

While AI chatbots are being disabled, the Chinese government is using AI at exam sites to prevent cheating.

Accordingly, AI monitoring systems will help detect unusual behaviors during exams through image monitoring systems and give warnings to invigilators.

AI systems that monitor exams are continuously trained, increasing the accuracy of their ability to identify cheating behavior. AI systems are capable of processing large volumes of surveillance video in a short period of time and making real-time assessments, helping to alert invigilators in a timely manner.

To build an AI system to detect cheating in exams, Chinese engineers had to collect large amounts of data on normal and abnormal behavior during exams. Machine learning algorithms were then trained based on the features in the images to build a model to recognize abnormal behavior, then applied to real-life exam monitoring.

Computer vision technology is used to capture and process images in the exam room, extracting image features to detect abnormalities.

The AI-generated warning information will be manually verified by invigilators in the exam room, and they will be the ones to make the final decision on whether the candidate is indeed cheating or not.

The Gaokao is considered the most important exam in China, which can decide the future of many young people. The competition in this exam is very high, because candidates must always try to do well in the exam to be admitted to the top universities in China.

This year's gaokao had 13.35 million candidates, down slightly from last year's record 13.42 million.

Candidates will have to take 5 exams, each lasting from 120 to 150 minutes. Each exam room usually has 2 invigilators to supervise 30 candidates. The number of candidates and invigilators may vary slightly depending on the locality.

Despite increased security and monitoring measures, there have been many cases of cheating at the gaokao. For example, in 2021, a candidate uploaded a photo of a math test to a search engine during the exam, meaning the candidate could have brought a smartphone with an internet connection and used it in the exam room.

Candidates who violate regulations and cheat during the exam will have their exam results canceled, be banned from taking the exam for 3 years, and may even be subject to criminal prosecution.

These tough moves reflect the Chinese government's seriousness in maintaining the fairness of the gaokao, which is considered the world's most competitive exam to determine who is worthy of entering university.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/vi-sao-nhieu-cong-cu-ai-tai-trung-quoc-khong-su-dung-duoc-trong-4-ngay-qua-20250611021108344.htm