What happens when college students build undetectable AI to beat interview systems that everyone hates?
This is the story of Changing “Roy” Lee, a 21-year-old computer science student at Columbia University, who decides to pursue what he saw as a broken system. Technical interviews based on REIT Code issues. Annoyed by the grind, Roy created an interview coder. This not only supported the candidates, but was fooled for them.
Colombian students build AI to cheat REIT Code Style technical interviews, get kicked out and blacklisted by fans
Yesterday, Lee was officially kicked out of Columbia University. He was banished during a technical interview to build AI tools that allow people to cheate. The app, called the interview coder, was written in JavaScript and ran as an undetectable overlay during live interviews on platforms such as Zoom and Hackerrank. We gave candidates real-time answers and avoided all the usual detection software.
He made it, used it and was caught
Roy didn’t just build tools. He used it. He landed offers from top tier companies such as Amazon, Meta, Tiktok and Capital One. He then destroyed all of his YouTube videos. How the tool works, how he used it, how easy it is to fool the system. The video went viral.
That’s when things are solved. Amazon tried to scrub the video from the internet and reported him to Colombia. The university stopped him and then expelled him.
What the interview coder actually did
The interview coder priced at $60 per month, and according to some reports, it was on track to generate more than $2 million in revenue. The tool scanned technical problems in real time, ran them through large language models, and displayed solutions in a subtle, human-like way. The user’s eyes do not raise the red flag because the cheat window has been moved onto the screen.
Roy wasn’t trying to hide what the interview coder was. He leaned over it. “I got an offer from Big Dog,” he posted to X. “And I made this in a week.”
REIT Code Issues
Anyone who has applied for a high-tech job before knows drills. You can be hired to grind hundreds of abstract REIT code issues and fix the margins of CSS files. Roy thought the entire system was broken.
“I spent 600 hours practicing REIT chords, which made me miserable,” he told CNBC. “The software point is hopeful that it will put an end to the LeetCode interview.”
This tool wasn’t just a shortcut. That was Roy’s way of calling for what he saw as a failure of the entire industry.
fall out
The response was quick. Amazon accused Roy of cheating and selling tools to others. Meta, Tiktok and other companies have sought internship offers. Roy laughed at it with X: “As an Amazon executive r, crazy Loll would stop asking stupid interview questions and people wouldn’t make shit like this.”
Colombia put him on probation because he allegedly promoted academic injustice. However, when Roy posted a screenshot from his hearing and leaked a photograph of his staff, the school fought back more violently in a year-long suspension that quickly turned into exile.
“I was just kicked out of Columbia to oppose a REIT Code interview,” Roy said in an X’s post.
I was just kicked out of Colombia to oppose an interview with REIT Code.
This is the whole story (long thread): pic.twitter.com/q7lpwjwya7
– Roy (@im_roy_lee) March 27, 2025
Socal Media Reactions
Online responses were everywhere. Some people call Roy a con man. Others saw him as a hacker hero who exposed the broken employment system.
“You’re legendary,” one user said. “Not because I want to cheat, but because I wanted to destroy LeetCode interviews for years.”
Another warning: “Criticizing in digital interviews simply forces businesses to be in-person and is valuable to workers.”
Silicon Valley’s reaction
Roy’s stunts didn’t just rattle Colombia. I also won Silicon Valley. Google CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly came to the idea of returning to face-to-face interviews to curb AI fraud. Amazon is asking candidates to ensure that candidates are not using external tools. Deloitte and humanity have completely removed remote technology interviews.
All the big questions hang. If AI can pass the interview, is your process really screening for the right person?
Roy’s next move
Despite the backlash, Roy has not retreated. He is heading to San Francisco to grow his startup. “I don’t feel guilty,” he told CNBC. “It’s their fault that they don’t adapt if they have better tools.”
Columbia declined to comment publicly, but Roy’s expulsion is running a round online.
Some think he is a scam. Others see founders willing to call BS in a process that everyone hates. Either way, he made his point – and the employment world is paying attention.
As Roy posted: “Lol. No one is safe.”
He may be right.
🚀Want to introduce you to a startup?
Submit your story to TechStartUps.com and get in front of thousands of founders, investors and tech leaders.
Submit your startup
