Two 21-year-old Columbia University dropouts have launched Cluely, an AI tool that promises to revolutionize job interviews, meetings, and even online dating by providing users with undetectable AI-powered assistance. The tool, which has raised $5.3 million in funding, claims to read screens, listen to audio, and provide users with smart responses in real-time, making them appear more intelligent and confident.

Cluely's creators, Chungin "Roy" Lee and Neel Shamugan, have a history of pushing the boundaries of AI-powered tools. Lee previously went viral for using his AI chatbot, Interview Coder, to cheat his way to an Amazon internship. The stunt led to him being suspended from Columbia, but it also sparked a wave of interest in the potential of AI to augment human capabilities.

Cluely's manifesto boldly declares that the tool will enable users to "cheat on everything." In a video call, Lee demonstrated how Cluely could be used to analyze a date's speech in real-time, providing the user with clever responses and even helping to salvage the situation when the date catches on to the ruse. The demo was impressive, but it raised questions about the ethics of using AI to deceive others.

To test Cluely's claims, I used the tool in a series of virtual meetings and conversations. Unfortunately, the experience was far from seamless. The AI struggled to understand context, required frequent prompting, and often took too long to generate responses. In one meeting, Cluely even caused audio feedback issues, leading my colleagues to ask me to mute myself.

Lee acknowledges that Cluely is still in its early stages and that the demo video was more of a vision statement than a representation of the current product. He believes that AI will eventually become so powerful that using it will feel like cheating, and that Cluely is just the beginning of a new era of human-AI collaboration.

While Cluely's ambitions are impressive, the reality of the tool falls short of its promises. In my testing, I found that using Cluely required more effort than simply preparing for a meeting or conversation in the traditional way. The tool's limitations and technical issues undermined its potential benefits, leaving me wondering whether the ends justify the means.

The launch of Cluely raises important questions about the role of AI in our personal and professional lives. As AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, we will need to grapple with the ethical implications of using it to augment our abilities. Is it acceptable to use AI to deceive others, even if it's just to make a good impression? And what are the consequences of relying too heavily on AI to do our thinking for us?

For now, Cluely remains a promising but flawed tool. Its creators will need to address the technical issues and ethical concerns surrounding its use if they hope to realize their vision of a future where AI is an integral part of our daily lives.