Deepfakes and Higher Education: A Research Agenda and Scoping Review of Synthetic Media

TL;DR

This paper reviews the current state of deepfake technology, highlighting detection, malicious uses, and benefits, and proposes a research agenda to explore their impact and mitigation in higher education.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive scoping review of deepfake literature and proposes a research agenda focused on their risks, mitigation, and educational benefits in tertiary education.

Findings

Deepfake detection methods are rapidly evolving.

Malicious applications of deepfakes pose significant threats.

Potential benefits include innovative teaching and learning tools.

Abstract

The availability of software which can produce convincing yet synthetic media poses both threats and benefits to tertiary education globally. While other forms of synthetic media exist, this study focuses on deepfakes, which are advanced Generative AI (GenAI) fakes of real people. This conceptual paper assesses the current literature on deepfakes across multiple disciplines by conducting an initial scoping review of 182 peer-reviewed publications. The review reveals three major trends: detection methods, malicious applications, and potential benefits, although no specific studies on deepfakes in the tertiary educational context were found. Following a discussion of these trends, this study applies the findings to postulate the major risks and potential mitigation strategies of deepfake technologies in higher education, as well as potential beneficial uses to aid the teaching and learning of both deepfakes and synthetic media. This culminates in the proposal of a research agenda to build a comprehensive, cross-cultural approach to investigate deepfakes in higher education.