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POV style YouTube ads are pushing wandlike AI scanner pens that promise instant answers on paper exams. Testing a $68.99 model, the device lit pages and sometimes read text, but its Q&A mode spit out nonsense, once offering a volcano fact to a question about the layer beneath Earth’s crust. Bulky and menued in Chinese, it did manage basic translation across six languages. As a cheating tool, though, it fell short. Students said a simpler tactic persists: snap a photo of a printed question and send it to ChatGPT, including in large lecture halls or during bathroom breaks.

Prepared by Jonathan Pierce and reviewed by editorial team.