Columbia University has suspended Chungin 'Roy' Lee, who created an AI tool used for cheating in job interviews with tech companies.

Lee, a 21-year-old computer science student at Columbia, an Ivy League University in New York, shared the school's suspension letter on Wednesday via his LinkedIn page.

He was suspended for one year for "publishing unauthorized documents" following a disciplinary hearing related to Interview Coder, an app he developed, as reported by Business Insider.

This AI-powered tool, released by Lee late last year, can generate code solutions, improve them, and even provide detailed explanations during virtual interviews.

Lee said it was undetectable by popular video conferencing apps like Zoom and Google Meet and was resistant to webcam monitoring. He even showcased its effectiveness by uploading a now-removed YouTube video in which he successfully passed a coding interview with Amazon using the tool.

He currently sells access to the tool for US$60 per month. He claims his startup is on track to reach $1 million in annual recurring revenue.

Lee suggested his AI tool highlights vulnerabilities in current recruitment methods, potentially forcing companies to reconsider their interview practices to ensure fairness and accuracy.

"Everyone programs nowadays with the help of AI," he told CNBC. "It doesn't make sense to have an interview format that assumes you don't have the use of AI."

Over the last year, experts have noted that AI-powered cheating tools have become so advanced that they are now nearly undetectable.

In response, several tech companies are rethinking their hiring processes. Google, for instance, is considering a return to in-person interviews. Studio.init has done the same after discovering that more than half of its candidates used AI to cheat in a recruitment round. (VnExpress International, but headline rejigged)

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