{"id":737855,"date":"2026-07-09T05:05:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T02:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-brown-professors-proof-of-mass-ai-cheating\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T05:05:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T02:05:16","slug":"a-brown-professors-proof-of-mass-ai-cheating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-brown-professors-proof-of-mass-ai-cheating\/","title":{"rendered":"A Brown professor&#8217;s proof of mass AI cheating"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a50b26dc7bac\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a50b26dc7bac\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-brown-professors-proof-of-mass-ai-cheating\/#The_numbers_that_gave_it_away\" >The numbers that gave it away<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-brown-professors-proof-of-mass-ai-cheating\/#The_test_he_set_to_prove_it\" >The test he set to prove it<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-brown-professors-proof-of-mass-ai-cheating\/#A_wider_reckoning\" >A wider reckoning<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-brown-professors-proof-of-mass-ai-cheating\/#Why_it_matters\" >Why it matters<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.thenextweb.com\/2026\/07\/ivy-league-brown-university.avif\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n<p>An economics professor at Brown University suspects most of his class cheated with AI, and he has the numbers to make the case. Roberto Serrano watched his take-home midterm average hit 96 out of 100. When he switched the final to an in-person test, the average fell to 48. He has taken the story public, telling <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/english.elpais.com\/education\/2026-06-28\/ai-fraud-at-brown-university-academic-integrity-is-at-risk.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">El Pa\u00eds<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/news\/faculty\/learning-assessment\/2026\/07\/08\/brown-professor-suspects-most-his-class-used-ai-cheat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Inside Higher Ed<\/a> that he will not let it go.<\/p>\n<p>The take-home format came out of tragedy. After a gunman killed two students on campus last December, many said they felt anxious sitting exams in a room full of people. Serrano offered take-home midterm and final papers to ease that. The irony stings: the one time in decades he relaxed the rules, much of the class cheated.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_numbers_that_gave_it_away\"><\/span>The numbers that gave it away<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Serrano\u2019s course, ECON 1170, is an advanced undergraduate economics class that usually draws a small, strong group. He had never taught more than 30 students, and once had just eight. This term, 86 signed up. The new take-home format likely drew them in.<\/p>\n<p>The midterm results were, in his word, extraordinary. The class averaged 96, and 40 students scored a perfect 100. The historical average for the course sits between 65 and 80, and this exam was harder than usual. Take-home, Serrano reasoned, was a chance to push the class further, given the unlimited time.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper channel-cta\">\n<div class=\"ica-text\">\n<p class=\"ica-text__title\">TNW City Coworking space &#8211; Where your best work h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ens<\/p>\n<p>A workspace designed for growth, collaboration, and endless networking opportunities in the heart of tech.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The answers themselves felt off. Many correct ones carried a \u201cvery convoluted style\u201d. When Serrano and his graders fed the questions to ChatGPT, they got similar results back.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_test_he_set_to_prove_it\"><\/span>The test he set to prove it<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>So he set a trap. He told the class the final would be in-person, and that he would compare the two distributions. If they matched, he would keep the midterm. If not, he would void it and reweight the final.<\/p>\n<p>The response spoke for itself. Eighteen students dropped the course, and nine more skipped the final. Of those 27, El Pa\u00eds noted, 22 had scored a perfect 100 on the midterm. Among the students who did sit the exam, the average dropped from 96 to 48. By Serrano\u2019s count, at least 50 students cheated on the midterm, and he calls the evidence overwhelming.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_wider_reckoning\"><\/span>A wider reckoning<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Brown is not alone. A recent survey of Princeton students found that 29.9 per cent admitted to cheating on at least one exam or assignment, most of it using AI. Schools have spent two years chasing detection tools and rethinking how they test at all.<\/p>\n<p>Students feel the strain too. Brown\u2019s own provost-led report found that most undergraduates use generative AI weekly or daily. Yet large majorities also worry about the effect on their learning, and fear what it does to their \u201ccognitive capacity\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>That worry sits alongside a broader shift, as AI reshapes who gets hired and even how people think and write. Serrano frames it in the starkest terms.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_it_matters\"><\/span>Why it matters<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cWe cannot afford to have a society in which a significant fraction of our best young minds think that cheating is okay,\u201d Serrano told Inside Higher Ed. \u201cThat leads to a declining society, to a failed society. We cannot choose to become idiots.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His experiment is small, one class, one term. But it turns a fuzzy worry into a hard number. Take the AI away, and half the apparent knowledge goes with it. That is the figure universities now have to sit with.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/brown-university-ai-cheating-in-person-exam-serrano\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An economics professor at Brown University suspects most of his class cheated with AI, and he has the numbers to make the case. Roberto Serrano watched his take-home midterm average hit 96 out of 100. When he switched the final to an in-person test, the average fell to 48. He has taken the story public,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":737856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.thenextweb.com\/2026\/07\/ivy-league-brown-university.avif","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-737855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/737856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}