They say that cheaters never prosper, but in an era where technology is far outpacing the human race, it seems it's easier than ever to do it. Even though we know there are some pretty advanced plagiarism detectors out there, people are coming up with more and more ingenious ways to use artificial intelligence to get a leg up on the competition.
Whether it be using AI to make your application shine, tricking your boss that you're working from home, or using AI to apply for jobs while you sleep, the ever-advancing world of artificial intelligence is proving to be both a gift and a curse.
One student from Columbia University has found out the hard way, being suspended from the illustrious institution for creating a program that can apparently land you a six-figure salary.
As reported by TechCrunch, 21-year-old Chungin “Roy” Lee announced that he'd successfully raised $5.3 million in seed funding for his AI tool called Cluely. Getting funding from Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures, his startup has caused plenty of controversy as it boasts the mantra that it can help you "cheat on everything.”
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Sharing a viral thread on X, Lee explained how Cluely was born after he was suspended from Columbia University when he co-founded the tool with COO Neel Shanmugam, designed to help software engineers cheat on their job interviews.
Originally called Coder, the program that has now evolved into Cluely has an in-browser pop-up window, providing answers that can't be viewed by an interviewer. Comparing itself to the likes of the calculator and spellcheck that were initially viewed as 'cheating', Cluely continued to prove divisive.
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Coder was designed around LeetCode, which is a platform of coding questions that is often used in software engineering interviews. Lee saw it as a waste of time, and turning his attention to Coder, he was able to land an internship at Amazon. The online marketplace refused to comment on Lee's case, although it said candidates are made to acknowledge they won't use these kinds of tools during the interview process.
Lee has also told his story to Doctor Phil, and explained what went down after he shared a video of him using the earliest version of Cluely to get his Amazon job: "I post a video online, publicly of me using the tool the whole time to show everyone, 'Hey, look at this technology that I built that will literally let you get a six-figure job’."
Unfortunately, Amazon saw the video, and after getting 'extremely upset', apparently wrote to Columbia and said it would stop hiring from there unless Lee was suspended.
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Being called before a disciplinary hearing, a disgruntled Lee said: "Obviously, I'm upset because Columbia is supposed to be training the future generation of leaders. I thought as an Ivy League institution, anyone who's going to openly embrace their students using AI for various purposes that had nothing to do with the school, it'd be Columbia."
Saying he's currently on suspension, Lee doesn't look like that's letting it hold him back, telling TechCrunch how Cluely has already passed $3 million average annual return in the first half of 2025.
In a polarizing video used to promote Cluely, Lee appears in a fictionalized version of a real-life scenario where he lies to a date about his age and knowledge of art. Although some saw the funny side of this, the fact that it could become a real-world application through AR glasses had many calling out the Black Mirror comparisons. Whadya know, maybe cheaters do prosper.
