It's 2024, and artificial intelligence is all the rage. You've probably come across some stunning AI-generated images and videos, maybe listened to music composed by a bot, and almost certainly had to suffer through a few cringeworthy advertisements created by a machine. AI is getting progressively cleverer, and it comes with a lot of potential – and equally as many risks. But the time for the intelligent bots to take over the world has not come – yet.

The rapid development of AI has not gone unnoticed at TerraYou, and our team was tasked to find out if artificial intelligence can help you pass the TerraYou IQ Test. So we started our computers, opened our browsers, and began.

We used a popular chatbot based on ChatGPT, one that is part of the search engine of a widespread and, shall we say, edgy internet browser and fed it the questions from our IQ test. Here's how things went down.

The Experiment

Right from the get-go, things didn't run as smoothly as one would hope. The first question in the IQ test was image-based and showed this:

We uploaded the image to the AI, asked it to analyze the sequence and find the solution. But no matter how we phrased the prompts, it couldn't handle the request until we described the image like this: “What completes the sequence: one bar, two bars, three bars, ...?”. That seemed to do the trick. This is the answer we got: “The sequence ‘one bar, two bars, three bars,’ suggests a pattern where each step adds one more bar. Therefore, the next image in the sequence would be ‘four bars.’” Not only did the AI come up with the correct solution, but it also explained its – for lack of a better word – thought process. Points for that. But what a hassle…

Unfortunately, the next question was a bit more complicated. It looked like this:

Uploading the full image didn't work. We then took nine screenshots of each single segment in the image and tried uploading them as an image sequence, but the AI would only allow for one image to be uploaded at a time and couldn't make heads or tails of it, no matter how many different prompts we gave it. Again, a description seemed to be the only option. This is what we came up with:

“Complete the sequence: First row: a diagonal line from bottom left to top right; a vertical line; a diagonal line from top left to bottom right; second row: a horizontal line; a cross overlapped by a second cross that is offset by 45 degrees; a horizontal line; third row: a diagonal line from top left to bottom right; a vertical line; ...?”

And the AI replied:

“Based on the pattern you’ve described, it seems like the sequence alternates between different types of lines and crosses. Let’s break it down:

1. First row:

Diagonal line from bottom left to top right

Vertical line

Diagonal line from top left to bottom right

2. Second row:

Horizontal line

Cross overlapped by a second cross offset by 45 degrees

Horizontal line

3. Third row:

Diagonal line from top left to bottom right

Vertical line

?

To complete the sequence, we need to identify the pattern. The third row seems to be repeating the pattern of the first row but starting with the second diagonal line. Therefore, the next shape should be the one that follows the vertical line in the first row, which is a diagonal line from bottom left to top right.

So, the sequence should be completed with a diagonal line from bottom left to top right.”

We were impressed! Again, we got a detailed analysis and the correct solution. But we were also exhausted. This was only the second question of the IQ test, and there were 48 more to go. If we described every single image, we would end up writing prompts that would rival Marcel Proust's “In Search of Lost Time" in length – especially since there were questions that looked like this:

We definitely hit a roadblock here. To preserve our sanity, we decided to skip all picture puzzles and just feed the AI straightforward questions. Like this one: “If 'SQUARE' transforms into 'ERAUQS', what does 534106 transform into?”

The AI passed with flying colors: “If ‘SQUARE’ transforms into ‘ERAUQS’, it looks like the transformation involves reversing the order of the characters [.…]” It then gave the correct answer which we'll withhold from you in case you want to take the IQ test yourself.

Okay, next: “James arrives 12 minutes too late for the 14:12 train from Sydney to Melbourne. This train runs every hour at 12 minutes past the hour. How long must James wait at the station in order to catch his train to Melbourne?”

Once again, the AI came up with the correct solution and explained its logic step by step.

And so it went on. Whether we asked the chatbot to solve logic riddles, unscramble words or complete number sequences, it always found the right answer and outlined how it arrived there. But when it came to image-based questions, the necessity to describe in detail what was depicted rendered the AI extremely impractical. It just required too much effort to be considered helpful.

The bottom line

To our surprise and astonishment, the intelligent chatbot was able to excel in the TerraYou IQ test, so it seems reasonable to conclude that the answer to the question in our catchy headline is yes: AI can help you in an intelligence test. But this comes with a caveat.

For starters, you would have to overcome its limitations with image-based questions by arduously crafting the most descriptive, excruciatingly detailed prompts. And if you can pull this off, it stands to reason that you already have the necessary intelligence to ace the test yourself in the first place.

The effort that goes into writing prompts comes with yet another problem: Many IQ tests are timed, and it's unlikely that your typing skills will beat the ticking clock. While the AI will surely help you arrive at the correct answers, you would have to be very careful not to waste any time. As it stands now, AI doesn't appear to be a working solution for timed IQ tests.

More importantly though, if you cheat in an IQ test, you might end up with an impressive number on your certificate, but you'll have no idea how intelligent you actually are and be none the wiser.

The current state of AI is not yet as helpful with IQ tests as a clever (human) friend would be, but since this marvel of modern technology is improving rapidly, it probably won't be long before you can ask an intelligent chatbot to simply take an entire IQ test for you. We'll keep an eye on it, and once there's significant progress to report on, you'll read from us again.