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Thursday 14 May 2026

Princeton reverses 133-year-old rule to combat AI cheating

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In 1893, Princeton University introduced an honour code that required students to pledge not to cheat and took them at their word. This summer, this policy will be reversed to combat concerns that generative AI tools have made it easy to game the system. The introduction of in-person proctoring reflects growing concern over ability and willingness to cheat: 30% of Princeton students have admitted doing so on an assignment or exam. Roughly the same proportion across the US say they use AI for entire assignments. Thousands of UK university students were caught cheating using the tech in 2023-24. The number is likely to be higher today.

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