Wharton Professor Recasts Exam for 95 Students After AI Cheating Plans Emerge

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 26

A day before a take-home test, a Wharton professor scrapped the usual multiple-choice and short-answer format after students warned that classmates planned to use AI to cheat.
Instead, 95 undergraduates were told to write an essay applying organizational psychology to a single question: how to motivate students to stop cheating.
The responses suggested the problem ran deeper than rule-breaking, with the professor saying most students framed cheating around stress, peer behavior and lack of choice rather than integrity.
The essay argues that in-class essays and oral exams can raise barriers, but lasting prevention requires changing incentives and strengthening students’ moral identity.
Psychology research cited in the piece says cheating rises as competitive stakes increase, while people with stronger moral identities are more likely to resist cheating, lying and stealing.