The Cheating Device (ChatGPT on a TI-84) [video]
A DIY project that hides an ESP32 inside a TI‑84 calculator to access ChatGPT during exams is prompting wider reflection on cheating, assessment, and the future of education in an AI-saturated world. Commenters reminisce about using programmable calculators as a gateway to coding, debate whether such tools deepen understanding or simply bypass learning, and compare past calculator “cheats” with today’s far more capable AI assistance. Many argue that traditional homework and unsupervised exams are becoming untenable, suggesting shifts toward supervised testing, oral exams, or curricula that explicitly integrate AI rather than attempting to ban it.
Impact of AI on Exams and Homework
- Many wonder what traditional exams mean when students can easily use AI (and previously, the open internet) to generate essays, solve problems, and cheat remotely or via smartphones.
- Several propose shifting assessment toward supervised testing centers, in-class quizzes, and oral/1:1 examinations to verify genuine understanding, though concerns about scalability, consistency, and bias are raised.
- Some argue homework should become ungraded practice, with all graded work done under supervision; others say homework remains valuable for practice and grade “cushioning.”
- There is disagreement over embracing AI (treating it as a standard tool and raising the abstraction level of curricula) vs. restricting it to preserve learning of fundamentals.
Cheating, Degrees, and Educational Value
- Some claim cheating is now rampant, especially with LLMs, and that many professors underestimate its scale.
- One stance: college is mostly about obtaining a credential; students should “optimize” for the easiest path, even via cheating.
- Counterpoint: this mindset devalues degrees, especially from non-elite schools, and harms honest students; strong defense of academic integrity and of learning for long‑term competence.
- Discussion notes that brand‑name universities retain signaling power partly because it’s harder to cheat all the way through them.
Programmable Calculators as Learning Tools (and Cheating Tools)
- Many recount learning programming on TI and HP calculators, writing solvers for algebra, calculus, and physics, games, and even fractal renderers.
- Several teachers tolerated or encouraged such programs if students wrote them themselves, seeing them as evidence of deep understanding.
- Others were hostile, treating any programming as cheating, which some commenters feel discouraged future interest in CS.
- Distinction is drawn between programming your own tools (learning-enhancing “hacking”) versus merely copying others’ programs (pure cheating).
The TI-84 + ESP32 “Cheating Device” Project
- The featured project embeds an ESP32 inside a TI‑84, wired to the link port and level-shifted via a small custom PCB, allowing the calculator to talk to online services like ChatGPT.
- Commenters generally praise the hack’s ingenuity but some criticize the “YouTube-style” presentation (fast cuts, memes, low technical depth), preferring more detailed, slower explanations.
Calculator Ecosystem and Policy
- TI‑84s remain common due to exam rules, despite dated hardware and high prices; alternatives like Numworks and TI‑Nspire are mentioned.
- Schools use various anti‑cheating tactics: memory wipes, swapping in school-owned calculators, banning programmables, and speculating about future Faraday-cage classrooms.