High School Students Beat "Gaokao" Math Robot in China

source: teenvogue.com

Forty-three high school seniors who took part in an exam-taking competition in Chengdu, China, officially outperformed the math robot they were up against. The robot, developed by China's Chengdu Zhun Xing Yun Xue Technology Co. received an average score of 93, while the class received an average score of 106, the Huffington Post reports.

The AI score is on par with the company's estimate of between 90 and 110.

According to the Chengdu Economic Daily, the AI and the students, a liberal arts class from Shishi Tianfu High School, were all required to complete the test in a two-hour timeframe.

"I think although it’s a math test, we won it because of our literary skills,” She Yujia, a student participant who scored 135 on the exam, told HuffPo.

Apparently, the robot is able to solve purely mathematical questions but has trouble with practical problem-solving, in which terms such as "investment" and "wealth" appeared. The AI may not have been able to process such words, since the Chinese company didn't have time to train the robot on practical problem and common sense comprehension -- but developers are working on it.

"Next, we’ll ‘feed’ it more questions, include practical problem-solving in the training, and fix the bugs," said Lin Hui, the developer's chief executive.

The overarching objective for the robot is to pass entrance exams by 2020 for two of China's elite universities: Peking University and Tsinghua University.