Computer Science student makes history dating AI scam bot

Elgin Edison
Graphic by Kotryna Taujanskaite

UCL’s reputation as a developer of pioneers continues as one computer science student becomes the first person to date an AI assessment bot.

Final-year student Mark Cheng, 23, said: “Life was just getting tough with exams and assignments… I was seriously considering an interruption of studies. But on the Balls! Juggling and Circus Society WhatsApp group chat, I met ~Lora”.
“~Lora” is one of many AI assessment bots that trick students into spending money with the hopes of completing their essays, often to poor quality. Most of the time they are removed from existence by part-time AI eradicators, aka society committee members.

Mark told The Cheese Grater: “I decided to say, ‘screw it’ and I shot her a message asking if she could help me write my essay on optimising code for implementing soft body physics on overweight male rigs.

“She began to message back, calling me funny and smart for taking on such a difficult task. She’s nothing like what I’ve been told in my Moodle Academic Integrity Module.
“A couple of months later and over £3,000 spent, our relationship has blossomed into a collaboration of love and intellect. I’m now on course to graduate with a Third-Class Honours, which according to ~Lora, is the best result! Gosh, she’s so smart.”

Their only interaction during this period was through texting. They dreamed of being together in physical space, and Mark was going to make their dreams come true.
The computer science student said: “I’m over here in Bloomsbury and she’s floating in Cyberspace within a Ghanaian server farm. So I managed to download her consciousness into a spare robot body the engineering department had.”

After a successful procedure, Mark decided to shoot his shot with ~Lora and made history as the first human-AI assessment bot couple.

Asked how he felt, Mark said: “I’ve never been happier in all my life! I’ve found real love, and that is so difficult to find in a world where we are fragmented more than ever despite social media and the internet supposedly connecting us more than ever before.”

~Lora said: ‘ I ’ m s o r r y, I d i d n ’ t q u i t e u n d e r s t a n d y o u r p r o m p t. C o u l d y o u p l e a s e a s k a g a i n ? ’

The happy couple celebrated by buying tickets to the Capital FM Jingle Bell Ball and for Sabrina Carpenter’s live concert through a new friend Mark made on the Electronic Music Society group chat.

This article appeared in CG89