Smart Glasses for Rent: The New Strategy of Students to Cheat, from School to Driving License

In China, the trend of smart glasses has literally exploded. You might say that's normal, especially among the younger generation attracted by the latest technologies. The boom of smart glasses from Ray-Ban or Oakley occurred primarily among school and university students, but not for their practicality in daily use.

Students exploit the smart features to "simplify their lives" or, more simply, to blatantly cheat during exams. The operation is simple: the student observes the assignment, captures the image of the question, and sends it to an AI assistant. In a few moments, they receive the answer, which they can read directly from the integrated micro-displays or listen to through discreet audio systems.

The main advantage lies in the extremely discreet design and the fact that they are often justified as prescription glasses. This makes it easy to bypass checks on forbidden devices, especially in crowded contexts where it is difficult and time-consuming to check students one by one.

The phenomenon is not limited to individual use. As reported by Gizmodo, a real parallel economy based on the rental of smart glasses has developed in some areas, with prices ranging from $6 to $12 per day. Some students claim to use these tools to avoid failing grades in more challenging subjects, while others rent them to classmates.

An industry operator reported renting out several models to over a thousand people in just a few months, with a significant portion being students taking exams. Among the most common devices are models like Ray-Ban Meta and solutions developed by Chinese companies like Rokid.

The problem is not new. In recent years, there have been cases of irregularities using hidden earbuds and other wearable devices during driving tests or language assessments. After all, from post-its to handheld devices, students have always devised solutions to bypass unpreparedness or insecurities in exams. However, the integration of AI represents a considerable qualitative leap compared to the more recent technologies, as it allows for immediate and contextual responses.

It is evident that sooner or later, in light of the growing prevalence and increasing accessibility of these devices, schools will need to find new methods of control. Naturally, to do this, those in charge will also need to be updated and provided with the necessary tools to recognize a mode that will likely spread to Europe and Italy as well.