"We cannot choose to become idiots": The AI cheating scandal roiling Brown University
Summary
A Brown University economics professor noticed unusually high scores on a take-home midterm exam and suspected many students used AI tools to cheat. When the final exam was held in person, scores dropped sharply, confirming widespread cheating with AI during the midterm.Key Facts
- Brown University economics professor Roberto Serrano offered take-home midterm and final exams in spring 2026 after a traumatic campus event.
- Enrollment in Serrano’s course rose from a usual 8–30 students to 86 students that semester.
- The midterm average score was 96 out of 100, with 40 students scoring a perfect 100, unusually high for this difficult course.
- Professor Serrano and his assistants found student exam answers resembled responses generated by ChatGPT, an AI chatbot.
- Serrano made the final exam in-person to compare results and verify academic honesty.
- For the in-person final, average scores dropped sharply to 48 out of 100.
- 27 students dropped or skipped the final; most of them had scored perfect 100s on the midterm.
- The case highlights concerns about AI use for cheating and its impact on learning.
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