UK Faces Backlash Over Plan to Use AI to Assess Age of Asylum Seekers
The UK government is facing growing criticism after awarding a contract to use artificial intelligence-based facial age estimation technology to assess the age of young asylum seekers whose declared age is disputed.
The policy, announced by the Home Office, involves deploying AI tools to help determine whether individuals seeking asylum should be classified as children or adults — a decision that can significantly affect whether they are placed in child protection systems or adult detention facilities.
The move has triggered strong opposition from more than 100 refugee and children’s rights organisations, which argue that the technology could lead to vulnerable minors being wrongly classified as adults. Critics warn this could result in children being placed in inappropriate detention environments, with serious implications for their safety and welfare.
A coalition known as the Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium has raised particular concerns about the reliability of AI-based age assessment in this context. The group argues that physical appearance can be highly misleading, especially among young people who have experienced trauma, malnutrition, and long and dangerous migration journeys before arriving in the UK.
According to the consortium, these factors can significantly affect physical development, making it difficult even for trained human assessors to accurately determine age let alone automated systems relying on facial analysis.
The Home Office has defended the use of new technology as part of efforts to improve efficiency and consistency in the asylum system, particularly in cases where documentation is missing or disputed. Officials say the AI tool is intended to support, rather than replace, human judgment in age assessments.
However, legal and humanitarian experts argue that the stakes are too high for experimental technology, especially when decisions can determine whether a person is treated as a child or an adult within the immigration system.
Human rights advocates have also raised broader concerns about the use of biometric AI tools in immigration enforcement, warning that such systems may introduce bias or errors that disproportionately affect already vulnerable populations.
The debate reflects a wider global discussion about the role of artificial intelligence in public decision-making, particularly in sensitive areas involving human rights, identity, and legal protection.
As scrutiny intensifies, pressure is mounting on the government to clarify how the technology will be tested, regulated, and monitored before being fully integrated into asylum procedures.