‘We cannot choose to become idiots’: a Brown professor’s proof of mass AI cheating

https://media.thenextweb.com/2026/07/ivy-league-brown-university.avif

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 El País and Inside Higher Ed that he will not let it go.

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.

The numbers that gave it away

Serrano’s course, ECON 1170, is an advanced undergraduate economics class that usually draws a small, strong group. He...

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