GenAI as an Educational Gatekeeper: Balancing Personalisation and Standardisation in Higher Education

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Abstract
This conceptual paper theorises Generative AI (GenAI) as a structural gatekeeper in higher education, advancing gatekeeping theory through a synthesis of media studies and educational governance. It positions GenAI not as a neutral tool but as an epistemic actor that reshapes control over knowledge production, curriculum design, and institutional autonomy. The paper introduces two constructs: the GenAI Algorithmic Gatekeeping Model, modelling recursive algorithmic influence; and the Human–AI Gatekeeping Model, a normative framework for sustaining academic integrity and epistemic diversity. Drawing on policy discourse, literature analysis, and illustrative cases, it develops a comparative lens for examining how algorithmic mediation reconfigures authority and standardisation in educational contexts. It concludes by setting a research and policy agenda for governing AI in education, inviting further inquiry into the conceptual architecture and normative implications of algorithmic gatekeeping.

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