AI facial recognition to check age of asylum seekers from next year
Summary
The UK government will start using AI facial recognition technology next year to estimate the age of asylum seekers. This tool aims to identify adults pretending to be children in order to get easier access to support.Key Facts
- A software company was hired to develop and test AI technology that estimates age by analyzing photos at the UK border.
- The Home Office says the technology helps find adults falsely claiming to be children.
- In the past year, over 6,400 migrants claiming to be children were assessed; 43% were found to be adults.
- Current age assessments include interviews, document checks, and scans, but mistakes have been made, mistaking adults for children and vice versa.
- The AI tool will be a new support method for border officers and will be trialed at Dover in mid-2027.
- The government believes this technology is the most cost-effective way to assess age in asylum cases.
- Human Rights Watch criticized the plan, calling the technology "unproven" and warning it could harm vulnerable children.
- The contract for the AI system will cost £322,000 over three years and is awarded to Akhter Computers Ltd.
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