Some Mad Genius Put ChatGPT on a TI-84 Graphing Calculator

On Saturday, a YouTube creator called ChromaLock published a video detailing however helium modified a Texas Instruments TI-84 graphing calculator to link to the net and entree OpenAI's ChatGPT, perchance enabling students to cheat connected tests. The video, titled “I Made the Ultimate Cheating Device,” demonstrates a customized hardware modification that allows users of the graphing calculator to benignant successful problems sent to ChatGPT utilizing the keypad and person unrecorded responses connected the screen.

ChromaLock began by exploring the calculator's nexus port, typically utilized for transferring acquisition programs betwixt devices. He past designed a customized circuit committee helium calls "TI-32" that incorporates a tiny Wi-Fi-enabled microcontroller, the Seed Studio ESP32-C3 (which costs astir $5), on with different components to interface with the calculator's systems.

It's worthy noting that the TI-32 hack isn't a commercialized project. Replicating ChromaLock's enactment would impact purchasing a TI-84 calculator, a Seed Studio ESP32-C3 microcontroller, and assorted physics components, and fabricating a customized PCB based connected ChromaLock's design, which is available online.

The creator says helium encountered respective engineering challenges during development, including voltage incompatibilities and awesome integrity issues. After processing aggregate versions, ChromaLock successfully installed the customized committee into the calculator's lodging without immoderate disposable signs of modifications from the outside.

To travel the hardware, ChromaLock developed customized bundle for the microcontroller and the calculator, which is disposable open source connected GitHub. The strategy simulates different TI-84, allowing radical to usage the calculator's built-in "send" and "get" commands to transportation files. This allows a idiosyncratic to easy download a launcher programme that provides entree to assorted "applets" designed for cheating.

One of the applets is simply a ChatGPT interface that mightiness beryllium astir utile for answering abbreviated questions, but it has a drawback successful that it's dilatory and cumbersome to benignant successful agelong alphanumeric questions connected the constricted keypad.

Beyond the ChatGPT interface, the instrumentality offers respective different cheating tools. An representation browser allows users to entree pre-prepared ocular immunodeficiency stored connected the cardinal server. The app browser diagnostic enables students to download not lone games for post-exam amusement but besides text-based cheat sheets disguised arsenic programme root code. ChromaLock adjacent hinted astatine a aboriginal video discussing a camera feature, though details were sparse successful the existent demo.

ChromaLock claims his caller instrumentality tin bypass communal anti-cheating measures. The launcher programme tin beryllium downloaded on-demand, avoiding detection if a teacher inspects oregon clears the calculator's representation earlier a test. The modification tin besides supposedly interruption calculators retired of Test Mode, a locked-down authorities utilized to forestall cheating.

While the video presents the task arsenic a method achievement, consulting ChatGPT during a trial connected your calculator astir surely represents an ethical breach and/or a signifier of world dishonesty that could get you successful superior occupation astatine astir schools. So tread carefully, survey hard, and retrieve to eat your Wheaties.

This communicative primitively appeared on Ars Technica.