Yesterday, we reported that Jason Arday, the youngest black professor at the University of Cambridge, was in the spotlight amid allegations of plagiarism and academic fraud, including the fabrication of parts of his life story. Arday said he ran 30 marathons in 35 days, that he didn't learn to read or write until he was 18 due to autism, and that he had to relearn his dissertation following brain surgery.

When Jack Grove, reporter with Times Higher Education (THE) reached out to Arday with questions as part of Grove's investigation, Arday went to police and claimed Grove had harmed his mental health. That launched a four-month investigation by Scotland Yard, and while the police found no wrongdoing, Grove was warned to stop contacting Arday. Arday's lawyers also sent a letter to THE and said the reporting on Arday was an "attack" and "racially motivated."

Now Arday has resigned his post, and it seems his resignation letter was AI-generated.

"It is with profound sadness that I write to resign, with immediate effect, from my position at the University of Cambridge and Jesus College," Arday wrote. "When I accepted the extraordinary honour of becoming Professor of Sociology at Cambridge, it was, without question, the greatest professional privilege of my life. To become the youngest black professor in the University's history was something I could scarcely have imagined as a child growing up with a diagnosis of autism, unable to speak until I was 11 years old."

Here's more:

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Jason Arday, the Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism and embellishment, has resigned after the university announced he was to face new investigations into his qualifications and career.

Arday, who had been dogged by a growing series of questions over his academic work and credentials, issued a statement on Wednesday night, saying the “relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love”.

...

However, after days of detailed scrutiny of his previous work and statements highlighting apparent discrepancies, Arday said he had “concluded that the only way to bring this chapter to an end is to step away”.

Simon & Schuster had been preparing to publish Arday’s memoir, entitled Great and Unfortunate Things, later this month. His resignation may pause or even halt its publication and planned publicity tours.

Most people hadn't heard of Arday until this week. But once they learn about Arday, it's clear why his credentials and achievements were questioned.

"One thing that interests me is that some of the most senior people in British academia believed he was: a world-class marathon runner, one of Britain’s most impressive charity fundraisers, an apprentice at Crystal Palace football club, a plausible snooker pro, and that he had brain surgery weeks before his viva (which meant memory loss)," Bastani wrote. "The liberal intelligentsia like to think they are smarter than everyone else, but most people would hear that and think 'hang on, this doesn’t really sound very possible does it.'"

It makes Cambridge look bad, too.