The UK will scan asylum seekers' faces for age checks
7 hours ago
- #UK immigration policy
- #facial recognition bias
- #AI age verification
- The UK government plans to use facial age estimation (FAE) AI at borders to assess asylum seekers' ages, starting in 2027, marking the first such use in this context.
- A leaked internal report reveals FAE systems frequently mistake children for adults, show bias against Sub-Saharan Africans, and have accuracy issues worsened by poor photo quality and stress from travel.
- The Home Office disbanded a scientific advisory committee on age estimation while exploring AI adoption, raising concerns about oversight and the technology's inadequacies.
- FAE technology, despite known flaws, is being integrated as an additional tool for border officers, with risks of entrenching dehumanizing practices and normalizing unreliable AI in high-stakes decisions.
- Critics, including rights groups, argue the technology is experimental, inaccurate, and biased, calling for its cancellation due to potential harm to vulnerable asylum seekers, especially children.