Smart glasses are a reality, and not since yesterday. We have been talking about them for a long time, testing them and telling what they can dofrom recording to integrating into the mobile ecosystem. It is not an exaggeration to say that they will be increasingly present in society. The question is what happens when they enter an exam where all candidates must compete under the same conditions, without external advantages or technological shortcuts.
The case. On January 24, during the MIR 2026 celebration in Santiago de Compostela, those responsible for surveillance detected an applicant who was using smart glasses and a smart watch, according to sources from the Ministry of Health cited. through media like El Mundo and 20Minutes. The devices were removed and the candidate was able to complete the test, but the subsequent administrative decision was forceful: his exam was graded a zero. As we can see, the incident was detected at the time, inside the classroom, but it did not become public until weeks later.
An exam that decides careers. He MIRacronym for Resident Internal Physician, is the mandatory route for a Medicine graduate to become a specialist in Spain. The test, organized by the Ministry of Health, is made up of 200 multiple choice questions, with four options and a single valid answer, in addition to reserve questions, and lasts four and a half hours. Based on the grade obtained, an order is established that determines the choice of specialty and destination.
The unknowns. It has not been detailed what model of glasses or what watch the applicant was wearing, nor what exactly was the method he tried to use. It has also not been reported whether there was any other device involved or whether there was coordination with third parties outside the classroom. For now, the only thing confirmed is the presence of these wearables during the test and the subsequent sanction. This lack of data forces us to carefully separate facts from hypotheses and avoid conclusions that are not supported by official information.
Goal glasses? Models such as the second generation Ray-Ban Meta incorporate a 12 MP camera, open speakers and artificial intelligence functions aimed at identifying objects or translating texts in real time. Meta’s own official help explains that allow you to “share your view” during a video call on Messenger, WhatsApp or Instagram, alternating between the glasses’ camera and the phone’s camera. None of this implies that this was the device used in MIR 2026, but it does help to understand what capabilities already exist on the market.
A controversy that had been going on since before. The debate on the controls of MIR 2026 was already open before this episode became known. Several candidates publicly questioned the result of exam number 1while she flatly denied it. In parallel, the president of the MIR Spain Association, Jesús Arzúa Moya, declared to EFE that They do not want to focus on anyone specific, but stated that they have received multiple testimonies about cell phone copying, absence of experienced members in many offices and other irregularities. According to him, “some cases of artificial intelligence (AI) glasses” have also been confirmed, and “there could be many more.”
Argentina as a mirror. A recent history helps to understand why these situations generate concern. According to AP, In the middle of last year, the Argentine Ministry of Health investigated an applicant who had recorded the Single Residency Exam with a camera hidden in his glasses. The main official hypothesis pointed to a system in which the candidate filmed the questions, went to the bathroom and sent the material to third parties to receive the answers before returning to the classroom. Authorities described the method as a “quite sophisticated, but effective, back-and-forth.” Although this case cannot automatically be extrapolated to Spain, it illustrates how the combination of camera and connection can alter traditional control logic.
The vulnerability is general. The context outside the classroom. What happened at the MIR adds to a broader conversation about the misuse of connected glasses. In Xataka we already talked about the arrest in Barcelona of a man who had recorded numerous women with some Ray-Ban Metaa case that focused on the ease with which these cameras can be integrated into everyday life. Although the device incorporates an LED that indicates recording and emits a sound when activated, there are methods to “camouflage” it.
The notice. What happened at MIR 2026 introduces a warning signal in an exam that affects the careers of thousands of doctors. The Ministry stressed that the case demonstrates that “it is monitored” and presents it as proof that the controls work since they were detected in the classroom. Even so, the emergence of connected wearables poses an obvious challenge for any highly demanding in-person test. The question now is not only who tried to copy, but whether current protocols are prepared for technological evolution.
Images | Xataka with Nano Banana | Wikimedia Commons
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