Alcorn State professor catches 32 students cheating with AI

History professor Jason Gibson at Alcorn State University designed a test question on the Industrial Revolution that contained a hidden instruction in white text, visible only to AI chatbots. The instruction asked the AI to insert references to Madagascar in the answer.

When 32 of the 35 students copied the prompt into a chatbot and submitted the generated response, the essays included absurd statements such as “Madagascar płynie bokiem przez popołudnie” ("Madagascar flows sideways in the afternoon"). The professor identified the AI‑generated content, denied credit for the work, and allowed only two students to appeal the decision.

The incident highlights growing concerns about AI‑assisted cheating in higher education and the measures faculty are adopting, from oral exams to AI‑driven detection tools, to preserve academic integrity.