Professor denounces mass AI fraud on an exam at Brown

474 points · 622 comments on HN · read original →

Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.

A Brown professor caught at least 50 students using AI on a take-home exam.

Roberto Serrano discovered massive AI-enabled cheating on his ECON 1170 midterm. The take-home exam, given after a campus shooting, produced an average score of 96. In-person final scores averaged 48. Of 27 students who skipped the final, 22 had perfect midterm scores. Serrano says the university gave a cold response. He will no longer give take-home exams.

What commenters are saying

Commenters split: some blame the professor for allowing a take-home exam, others say students are adults responsible for integrity. Many argue colleges are credentialing mills, not learning institutions, and AI cheating is inevitable given job-market incentives. A minority defends the professor, noting he handled the situation reasonably by using an in-person final. Some lament the death of the honor system.