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Ever since AI came into the picture, there’s been a real fear about what it could do to students' creativity, their ability to think deeply, and their habit of working hard. And now, it seems those fears are coming true.
The University of Waterloo has cancelled the results of its annual Canadian Computing Competition (CCC) after finding that many students used AI to cheat, a report by The Logic has revealed.
Every year, thousands of students take part in the CCC to boost their chances of getting into prestigious programs like computing and engineering at Waterloo. Some even hope to make it to international competitions. A strong performance in the contest can really help with university admissions and future job applications.
But this year, things didn’t go as planned. Instead of releasing the usual list of scores and rankings, the university announced that results for the 2025 competition would not be published.
In a statement, the competition’s co-chairs said many students had broken the rules by submitting code they didn’t write themselves. They said it would be unfair to rank students when so many had used “forbidden external help,” like AI tools.
The CCC clearly tells participants that using AI or any outside tools is not allowed. But with AI programs like GitHub’s Copilot becoming easily accessible, it's getting harder to stop students from cheating.
Jayden Shin, an eleventh-grade student who took part this year, said he wasn’t surprised by the decision. “There’s a lot of cheating around with the rise of AI,” he told the publication. He also pointed out that during the competition, one teacher had to watch over eight students at once, making it tough to catch cheaters.
In the past, it was harder to cheat during these exams. But now, students can use AI tools without even leaving their coding programs.
The University of Waterloo says it plans to introduce better technology, stricter supervision, and clearer rules for future competitions to prevent this from happening again.
Unfortunately, the cancellation hits hardest for Grade 12 students, who won’t get another shot at the competition next year. Shin said it’s disappointing but made it clear that the blame lies with those who chose to cheat. “It’s obviously the cheater’s fault,” he said.
The CCC is seen as an important achievement for students aiming for internships, jobs, and competitive university programs, making the fallout from this year's scandal even more significant.
