The problem
The gap between submission and understanding is growing
For centuries, a submitted piece of work was imperfect proof — but it was something. AI-generated content has severed even that thin tether. Today, a student can submit a sophisticated, well-structured essay without having read the source material, formed an opinion, or engaged meaningfully with the subject.
Plagiarism detection is playing catch-up with increasingly capable generation tools and losing. Similarity scores and AI detectors produce false positives, miss sophisticated paraphrasing, and don't tell you whether the student actually understands what they submitted. They answer the wrong question.
The right question is not "Did this student write this?" It is "Does this student understand this?" And the only reliable way to answer that is to ask them, in real time, out loud.
What we built
An oral assessment layer that works at scale
Viva holds structured, personalized AI voice conversations after assignment submission. Each conversation is tailored to the student's own work — the questions, the follow-ups, the probes — so every one is unique. The AI surfaces moments worth an instructor's attention.
The result is not a new grade. It is a verified signal layered on top of existing assessment: a structured report for the instructor, targeted feedback for the student, and a portable Viva Card the student can carry forward as proof of demonstrated understanding.
Oral assessment is the oldest and most trusted form of evaluation in education. We are not reinventing it. We are making it accessible to every instructor, in every class, at every scale.
Where we are going
A world where every student's understanding can be verified
Our long-term vision is a credential layer for education — one where demonstrated understanding is portable, verifiable, and trusted across institutions. A student who aced a Viva session on climate policy in Year 10 should be able to carry that forward. A university admissions team should be able to examine the actual evidence, not just the grade on the transcript.
That future requires a standard. Viva is building toward it — one classroom, one conversation, one verified Viva Card at a time.