ChatGPT already did has wreaked havoc in classrooms and changed the way teachers approach homework since OpenAI publicly released the generative AI chatbot in late 2022. School administrators scrambled to try to detect AI-generated essays, and students, in turn, struggled to figure out how to disguise their synthetic compositions. But by focusing on writing assignments, educators are allowing another seismic shift to happen on the fringes: Students are using AI more often to complete math homework, too.
High school and college students across the country are currently experimenting with free smartphone apps that help them complete their math homework with the help of generative AI. One of the most popular options on campus right now is the Gauth app, with millions of downloads. It is owned by ByteDance, which is also the parent company of TikTok.
Gauth app was first launched in 2019. with a primary focus on mathematics, but soon expanded to include other subjects such as chemistry and physics. Its relevance has been growing and it came close to the top of smartphone download lists earlier this year for the education category. The students seem to like it. With hundreds of thousands of mostly positive reviews, Gauth has a favorable rating of 4.8 stars on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
All students have to do after downloading the app is point their smartphone at a printed or handwritten homework problem and then make sure the relevant information is inside the cropped image. Gauth’s AI model then generates a step-by-step guide, often with the correct answer.
In our tests on samples of high school algebra and geometry homework, Gauth’s AI tool didn’t score A+ and struggled especially with some graphing questions. He performed well enough to get a low B or high average C on the homework we gave him. It’s not perfect, but it’s also probably good enough to satisfy bored students who’d rather spend their time after school doing literally anything else.
The app struggled more with higher levels of math, such as Calculus 2 problems, so students further along in their educational journey may find less utility in this current generation of AI homework apps.
Yes, generative AI tools based on natural language processing are notorious for failing to generate accurate answers when presented with complex mathematical equations. But researchers are focused on improving AI’s capabilities in this sector, and an introductory high school math class is likely within the reach of current AI homework apps. Will has even written about how Google DeepMind researchers are ecstatic about the recent results of testing a large math-focused language model called AlphaProof on problems shown at this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad.
