ChatGPT used to cheat in state civil services exam; accused allegedly earned Rs 1.1 crore from candidates

The Telangana Public Service Commission (TSPSC) is currently investigating a scandal that could be one of the biggest cheating scams. For the first time in the country, aspiring civil servants used ChatGPT to trick the system.

The SIT assigned to probe the question paper leak case stumbled upon use of AI in cheating. According to a report by Times of India, one of the accused, Poola Ramesh, a divisional engineer with the Telangana State Northern Power Distribution Company Limited, utilized the power of ChatGPT to answer the leaked question papers for the assistant executive engineer (AEE) and divisional accounts officer (DAO) exams. With the aid of Bluetooth earbuds, he discreetly transmitted the answers to fellow aspirants during the examination.

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Ramesh is believed to be the alleged mastermind. The report suggests that he devised an elaborate plan to feed answers to seven candidates during two separate exams held on January 22 and February 26. Each of the seven individuals had apparently agreed to shell out a staggering sum of Rs 40 lakh to secure their success. The alleged perpetrator was aiming to earn arnd Rs 10 crore by helping 35 aspirants cheat in their respective examinations. 

The modus operandi involved a principal at the exam center who was responsible for capturing photos of the question papers and swiftly sending them to Ramesh. Armed with the leaked questions, Ramesh used ChatGPT to obtain the correct answers, and via the discreet Bluetooth micro earpieces, he transmitted the information to the candidates who paid him.

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Interestingly, Ramesh's didn't need ChatGPT for the assistant engineer (civil) exam on March 5 as he had received the leaked question paper in advance from Poola Ravi Kishore, a junior assistant in the electricity department and a relative.

The police revealed that Ramesh had sold the leaked question papers to more than 30 candidates, each paying an exorbitant sum ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. 

Before the police got a whiff of the matter, Ramesh had already pocketed an amount of approximately Rs 1.1 crore.

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