Professors are turning to this old-school method to stop AI use on exams: A growing number of educators are finding that oral exams allow them to test their students’ learning without the benefit of AI platforms such as ChatGPT.

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• Across the country, a small but growing number of educators are experimenting with oral exams to circumvent the temptations presented by powerful artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT.
• Such tools can be used to cheat on take-home exams or essays and to complete all manner of assignments, part of a broader phenomenon known as “cognitive off-loading.”

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• In some countries, such as Norway and Denmark, oral exams never went away. In other places, they were preserved in specific contexts: for instance, in doctoral qualifying exams in the United States. Dobson said he never imagined that oral exams would be “dusted off and gain a second life.”
• New interest in the age-old technique began emerging during the pandemic amid worries over potential cheating in online environments. Now the advent of AI models — and even AI-powered glasses — has prompted a fresh wave of attention.
• Oral assessments are “definitely experiencing a renaissance,” said Tricia Bertram Gallant, director of the Academic Integrity Office at the University of California at San Diego. Such tests are not always the answer, she added, but offer the added benefit of practicing a skill valuable for most careers.