Synthetic Media in Multilingual MOOCs: Deepfake Tutors, Pedagogical Effects, and Ethical-Policy Challenges

TL;DR

This paper reviews the use of deepfake and synthetic media in multilingual MOOCs, discussing technological, pedagogical, ethical, and policy implications, and proposing a framework for responsible integration to enhance inclusivity and engagement.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of recent synthetic media applications in multilingual MOOCs and proposes a policy framework emphasizing transparency and responsible governance.

Findings

Synthetic media can reduce production costs and enhance multilingual learning.

Concerns about authenticity, privacy, and teacher-learner relationships are significant.

A policy framework is proposed to address ethical and pedagogical challenges.

Abstract

In recent years, synthetic media from deepfake videos have emerged as a new interesting technology, whether that refers to cloned voices, multilingual translation models, or more recent applications of avatar tutors into higher education. As such, these technologies are rapidly becoming part of the multilingual distance learning model and, more recently, MOOCs worldwide. This article is a scoping review that focuses on recent international literature published between 2020 and 2025 to explore the usage of deepfake and synthetic media tools and methods in multilingual MOOC content and assess the influence of these technologies on social presence and participation. Similarly, we focus on ethical and political issues that are closely connected with the adaptation of these technologies, and upon analysing educational technology and policy documents, such as UNESCO's Guidelines and the EU AI Act, we pinpoint that the use of synthetic avatars and AI-generated videos can diminish production costs and assist multilingual learning. Evidently, concerns arise regarding authenticity, privacy, and the shifting nature of the teacher-learner relationship that are thoroughly discussed. As a result, the technical merit of this paper is the proposal of a policy framework that, in an effort to address these issues, focuses on transparency, responsible governance, and AI literacy. The goal is not to replace human instruction but to integrate synthetic media in ways that strengthen pedagogical design, safeguard rights, and ensure that multilingual MOOCs become more interesting and inclusive rather than more automated robotic processes and unequal