Brown Professor Flags 40 Perfect Midterms as AI Cheating Suspicions Sweep 86-Student Economics Class
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Jul 8
Brown Professor Flags 40 Perfect Midterms as AI Cheating Suspicions Sweep 86-Student Economics Class
3 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Jul 8
Summary
Forty students scored 100 and the class average hit 96 on a March 5 take-home midterm in Brown economist Roberto Serrano’s ECON 1170, far above the course’s usual 65-80 range.
Serrano said the exam was harder than past midterms, making the results especially suspicious and fueling his belief that generative AI was widely used to cheat.
Enrollment in the class jumped to 86 from a typical maximum of 30 after Serrano switched to take-home midterm and final exams for spring 2026.
That change followed Brown’s December 2025 campus shooting, which killed two people and left Serrano shaken after one victim had recently introduced herself to him.
The case adds a concrete example to broader concern over AI cheating at elite schools; a recent Princeton survey found 29.9% of students admitted using AI to cheat on at least one exam or assignment.
With AI acing exams, can universities still guarantee the value of a degree?
When AI detectors are biased, how can schools fairly punish student cheating?
AI Cheating at Brown: 22 of 27 No-Shows Scored 100—A Wake-Up Call for Universities
Overview
The Brown University AI cheating scandal began in Professor Roberto Serrano’s ECON 1170 course, where suspicions arose after a take-home midterm. Serrano warned students that the midterm would only count if the final exam’s grade distribution matched the midterm’s, expecting a clear difference if cheating had occurred. This conditional approach acted as an early detection method. When the in-person final revealed a dramatic drop in scores and attendance, it confirmed widespread AI-assisted cheating. The incident exposed major challenges for academic integrity, prompting Brown and other universities to rethink assessment methods and policies in the age of artificial intelligence.