UK to Deploy AI Facial Recognition for Asylum Seeker Age Verification
UK to use AI facial recognition to check age of asylum seekers
The United Kingdom plans to implement artificial intelligence facial recognition technology at its borders next year to estimate the ages of asylum seekers, according to reporting from the BBC. A software company has been contracted to develop and test the system, which will analyze photographs taken at border checkpoints.
The Home Office states the technology aims to identify adult migrants "attempting to game the system" by posing as children, citing "promising performance and accuracy" from initial testing. Unaccompanied child migrants are typically processed through the care system rather than the standard asylum system, which can improve their chances of remaining in the country.
Human Rights Watch has called for the government to abandon the program, characterizing it as "unproven technology" that could compromise protections afforded to vulnerable migrant children.
