Suspecting AI cheating, Ivy League prof ordered an in-person final; scores fell 50%

A Brown University professor discovered widespread AI cheating when 40 out of 86 students scored perfect 100s on a take-home midterm exam with an average of 96 , while some answers contained unusual passages matching ChatGPT results . After warning students the in-person final would count for 50% of the grade and threatening to reweight if results didn't match the midterm pattern, 27 students dropped the course . The in-person final average dropped dramatically from 96 to 48 out of 100 , revealing the extent of the cheating.

Source: Ars Technica | 2026-07-08