Pilot entrance exam sparks anger over alleged AI cheating and lax supervision

The joint entrance exam for the Finnish Aviation Institute and Finnair’s commercial pilot training was conducted remotely on 15 September, with applicants originally informed that webcam monitoring would be required. Numerous test-takers, however, say no camera verification occurred and that the exam platform did not request camera activation. Participants also note that the passing score was markedly higher than in earlier iterations, fueling claims that some candidates may have used AI tools to answer questions.

Institute director Ari Tolonen asserts that multiple anti-cheating technologies, including AI-driven response analysis, were in place and that copy-paste functions were blocked, but he acknowledges the analysis is still pending. The exam attracted a substantially larger pool of candidates than the previous cycle, which delayed the calculation and release of results until the following morning. The institute is reviewing the process and plans to require in-person assessments for subsequent selection stages.