Roy Lee, a sophomore at Columbia University, has stirred up a storm in the tech world. He built an AI tool called Interview Coder to breeze through the tough technical interviews at companies like Amazon, Meta, and TikTok. These interviews are a rite of passage for anyone chasing a job at a big tech firm. They demand quick thinking and flawless coding under pressure. Lee managed to impress Amazon enough to land an offer. Then he turned it down.
The technical interview process is no picnic. Candidates face tricky coding problems they must solve live, often with a company employee watching every move. Lee spent 600 hours prepping for these tests. He tracked his progress on LeetCode, a site programmers use to sharpen their skills. “It was miserable,” he told Gizmodo in an interview with Matthew Gault. He felt the process didn’t reflect real programming work. It drained his love for coding and pushed him to find a shortcut.
That shortcut was Interview Coder. The tool is straightforward but clever. It uses ChatGPT to solve coding problems from a snapshot. Lee claims it slips past the monitoring software companies use to spot cheating. He put it to the test at TikTok, Meta, and Amazon. It worked every time. To prove it, he recorded his Amazon interview and posted the full video on YouTube. The stunt paid off with job offers, but Lee had bigger plans.
Trouble followed fast. After the video went up, someone tipped off Columbia. The university accused him of cheating and set a disciplinary hearing for March 11. Lee isn’t sticking around for it. He’s leaving Columbia, convinced that AI will soon wipe out many programming jobs. “I need to swing as big as possible,” he said. “I don’t have time to work two years in a big tech job.” He’s betting on a future where tools like his make traditional roles obsolete.
Amazon wouldn’t comment on Lee but said their hiring process is adapting. Meta and TikTok stayed silent. Meanwhile, Lee is cashing in. He’s selling Interview Coder subscriptions for $60 a month. His story has blown up online, especially among programmers. It’s sparked a debate about whether technical interviews still make sense in an AI-driven world. For now, Lee’s walking away from Amazon and Columbia, ready to take his chances elsewhere.
Dwayne Cubbins
699 Posts
For nearly a decade, I've been deciphering the complexities of the tech world, with a particular passion for helping users navigate the ever-changing tech landscape. From crafting in-depth guides that unlock your phone's hidden potential to uncovering and explaining the latest bugs and glitches, I make sure you get the most out of your devices. And yes, you might occasionally find me ranting about some truly frustrating tech mishaps.
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