The Home Office is set to introduce Artificial Intelligence-powered facial recognition technology next year to help determine the ages of asylum seekers arriving at the country’s borders.
The system is designed to identify adults who may allegedly be posing as children in order to access protections and services reserved for minors within the UK asylum system.
According to reports, a software company has already been awarded a contract to develop and test the technology, which will estimate a person’s age by analysing photographs taken during border processing.
The UK government says the AI tool will strengthen border controls and improve the identification of individuals “attempting to game the system.”
Officials from the Home Office noted that early testing of the technology showed “promising performance and accuracy,” increasing confidence in its future deployment.
However, the plan has attracted criticism from rights groups and migration advocates.
Human Rights Watch has called on the British government to abandon the proposal, arguing that the technology remains unreliable and could negatively affect vulnerable children seeking asylum.
The organisation described the AI system as “unproven technology” and warned that errors in age assessment could result in minors being treated as adults, potentially exposing them to unsafe conditions and denying them legal protections.
The debate adds to growing global discussions about the use of Artificial Intelligence in immigration enforcement, border security, and public administration, particularly concerning privacy, accuracy, and human rights safeguards.
