AI can solve a math exam in five minutes
En cada generación, las instituciones educativas se enfrentan a nuevas formas en que el ingenio humano busca atajos ante la presión del mérito. Extremadura afronta esta tensión antigua con medios contemporáneos: mientras otras regiones españolas despliegan detectores de frecuencia para frenar el uso de auriculares diminutos y gafas inteligentes en los exámenes de acceso a la universidad, la región confía en la vigilancia humana, apoyándose en aulas más pequeñas y normas más estrictas. Es una apuesta por la presencia frente a la tecnología, aunque quienes coordinan las pruebas reconocen que el tiempo podría no estar de su lado.
- La inteligencia artificial puede resolver un examen de matemáticas en cinco minutos, convirtiendo cada señal inalámbrica en una posible vía de trampa durante la PAU.
- Cuatro regiones españolas ya instalan detectores de frecuencia para neutralizar auriculares nano y gafas inteligentes, mientras Extremadura se mantiene al margen de esa carrera tecnológica.
- El coordinador regional admite que las nuevas tecnologías evolucionan tan rápido que cada vez resulta más difícil detectarlas, incluso con proctores atentos en aulas reducidas.
- Las normas vigentes prohíben móviles, relojes inteligentes y cualquier dispositivo electrónico, e imponen la expulsión inmediata y un cero ante cualquier infracción, incluido negarse a mostrar las orejas si se lleva tocado.
- Andalucía y el País Vasco estudian ya medidas similares a las de las regiones que usan detectores, y Extremadura reconoce que deberá tomar decisiones en los próximos ciclos si los métodos de trampa siguen sofisticándose.
Los exámenes de acceso a la universidad en Extremadura serán más vigilados que nunca a partir del 2 de junio, aunque no de la misma manera que en otras comunidades. Galicia, Murcia, Cataluña y Aragón han optado por instalar detectores de frecuencia para interceptar auriculares diminutos y gafas inteligentes capaces de transmitir respuestas generadas por inteligencia artificial. Extremadura, en cambio, apuesta por la vigilancia humana.
José Antonio Pariente, coordinador de la PAU en la región, justifica la decisión por el tamaño reducido de sus aulas: con menos estudiantes por sala, los vigilantes pueden observar con mayor detalle lo que ocurre. Aun así, no oculta sus reservas. Hace dos años ya detectaron a un alumno con un pinganillo, y sabe que la tecnología no deja de avanzar. «Las nuevas tecnologías cambian tan rápido que cada vez es más difícil detectarlas», reconoce.
El desafío es concreto: la IA puede resolver un examen de matemáticas en aproximadamente cinco minutos. El problema no es solo encontrar un móvil en un bolsillo, sino impedir que cualquier información salga del aula y que ninguna respuesta entre desde fuera. Pariente asume que esto exigirá decisiones difíciles en los próximos años.
Las normas ya son exigentes. Está prohibido llevar móviles, relojes inteligentes o cualquier dispositivo electrónico; quien incumpla es expulsado con un cero en la materia. Hay además una disposición específica sobre tocados: los estudiantes pueden llevar velo, pañuelo o gorra, pero deben poder mostrar las orejas si se les pide. Negarse implica la expulsión automática, una respuesta directa al problema de los auriculares.
La región tiene antecedentes recientes. En 2023, tres alumnas fueron sorprendidas durante las pruebas: una con chuletas tradicionales, otra con un móvil y una tercera con lo que la comisión identificó como un receptor de señales externas conectado a un auricular. Las tres recibieron un cero y un parte de incidencias.
Andalucía y el País Vasco estudian ya si adoptar detectores de frecuencia como las cuatro regiones que los usarán este junio. Extremadura no ha tomado ese camino todavía, al menos en este ciclo. Por ahora, refuerza lo que puede controlar: la atención de sus vigilantes, las normas de acceso y un reglamento sobre calculadoras que, por su extensión y detalle, revela hasta qué punto se toman en serio cada posible resquicio. Lo que ocurra en junio determinará si eso es suficiente.
Extremadura's university entrance exams are about to get stricter. Starting June 2nd, proctors will be watching harder than ever—but not with the kind of technology other Spanish regions are deploying. While Galicia, Murcia, Catalonia, and Aragon are installing frequency detectors to catch nano-earpieces and smart glasses that funnel AI-generated answers into exam halls, Extremadura is betting on human vigilance instead.
José Antonio Pariente, who coordinates the PAU (university entrance exam) in Extremadura, explains the reasoning plainly: the region's exam halls are smaller and hold fewer students than those in other parts of Spain. That means proctors can actually see what's happening. Still, he doesn't sound entirely confident about it. Two years ago, they caught a student wearing a tiny earpiece—a pinganillo, as it's called locally—and he knows the technology keeps evolving. "We'll tell the proctors to stay alert at all times," he says. "New technologies change so fast it's getting harder to spot them."
The stakes are real. Artificial intelligence can solve a mathematics exam in about five minutes. That's not a theoretical concern—it's the actual capability sitting on the other side of a phone call or a wireless signal. The challenge isn't just catching someone with a phone in their pocket. It's preventing any information from leaving the exam room and any answers from coming back in. Pariente acknowledges this will require decisions in the years ahead, especially as cheating methods grow more sophisticated.
Extremadura's rules are already strict on paper. No mobile phones, no smartwatches, no electronic devices of any kind during the exam. Breaking this rule means immediate expulsion and a zero in that subject. There's also an unusual provision about head coverings—students can wear veils, scarves, or hats, but they must be able to show their ears on demand. If they refuse, they're expelled with an automatic zero. It's a direct response to the earpiece problem.
The region has a recent history of catching cheaters. In 2023, three female students were caught during the entrance exams. One had traditional cheat sheets. Another had a mobile phone. The third had what looked like an antenna attached to an earpiece—what the exam commission believed was a receiver for external signals, presumably someone outside feeding her answers. All three got zeros and incident reports.
Cheating at university entrance exams isn't epidemic across Spain, but it's persistent, and the methods keep changing. Andalusia and the Basque Country are already studying whether to adopt frequency detectors like the four regions that will use them this June. Extremadura hasn't committed to that path yet, at least not for this exam cycle. Instead, they're tightening what they can control: attention, presence, and the rules about what students can bring into the room.
The rules about calculators alone take up pages. Scientific calculators are allowed in subjects like Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics, but they cannot be programmable. The exam commission provides a long list of approved brands and models, and an even longer explanation of what counts as programmable and what doesn't. It's the kind of detail that suggests how seriously they're taking the whole apparatus—every loophole considered, every device categorized.
What happens next depends on how the June exams go. If proctors spot new methods, if students find new ways around the rules, Extremadura will likely reconsider. The region's smaller classrooms and lower student density give it an advantage human monitors can't replicate everywhere. But Pariente seems to know that advantage has limits. Technology doesn't care about classroom size.
Notable Quotes
We'll tell the proctors to stay alert at all times. New technologies change so fast it's getting harder to spot them.— José Antonio Pariente, PAU coordinator for Extremadura
The region's exam halls are smaller and hold fewer students than those in other parts of Spain, allowing for enhanced human monitoring.— PAU organizing commission
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why not just install the frequency detectors like the other regions? Seems like the obvious move.
Extremadura thinks it doesn't need them yet. The exam halls are smaller, fewer students per room. A proctor can actually watch people. But Pariente—he's the coordinator—he's not saying it won't happen. He's saying not this June.
So it's a cost thing, or a principle thing?
Neither, really. It's more that they're betting on what they already have. But he admits AI can solve a math exam in five minutes. That's the real problem—not the earpiece, but the speed of the answer coming back.
They caught someone with an earpiece two years ago. That's not nothing.
Exactly. And they caught three cheaters in 2023 alone. So they know it's happening. The frequency detectors would catch the signal itself, not the person. Extremadura's saying: we'll catch the person instead.
Can they, though? If the technology keeps getting better?
That's the question Pariente is asking out loud. He says other regions are already studying it. Andalusia, the Basque Country. He's signaling that Extremadura will probably follow, just not yet.