What happened

Automated interviews for international students applying to UK universities are being corrupted by fake interviews in which applicants have been discovered using AI-generated images or audio to replace faces and voices, allowing applicants to replace their words or accent with a more fluent version, or to disguise the fact someone else entirely is giving the answers.

The sophistication of the deepfakes makes them extremely difficult to detect, according to education software platform Enroly. The firm reckons the numbers are small, with about 30 cases out of 20,000 interviews during the 2025 January intake, but describes the fake videos as "straight out of a sci-fi film". 

Why it happened

The automation of international student interviews, combined with advancements in AI technology, has created a raft of new opportunities to circumvent proper vetting procedures.