MANCHESTER, England (CN) — The British government’s plan to use artificial intelligence to help determine the age of migrants arriving at the border has drawn criticism from charities and child welfare organizations, which warn the technology could result in vulnerable children being wrongly treated as adults.
The Home Office announced Friday it will begin testing facial age estimation technology, or FAE, as part of age assessments for asylum-seekers who arrive without documents proving their age.
Ministers say the system will help immigration officers make more informed decisions and strengthen safeguards for children.
But refugee advocates, social workers and human rights groups argue the technology is ill-suited to assessing young people who may have endured trauma, malnutrition and dangerous journeys before reaching Britain.
The decision expands the role of AI in government decisionmaking, where authorities have increasingly embraced AI-powered technology, including live facial recognition systems used by police forces in cities such as London and Manchester and at some public demonstrations.
AI to aid human judgement
The Home Office says it has a legal duty to protect children who arrive alone at the border and that age disputes can create serious safeguard risks.
Officials argue mistakes can leave minors in adult settings or allow adults to enter environments intended for children, such as schools or care facilities.
“Adult migrants making false age claims have exploited the system and diverted vital support away from children at risk,” Border Security and Asylum Minister Alex Norris said in a statement announcing the policy. “That is why we are rolling out AI technology to put a stop to this, ensuring those who game the system are identified, detained and removed without delay, and those who deserve support and protection are given it.”
The government says the technology will not replace human evaluation.
Immigration officers will continue to make the final decision, drawing on factors including appearance, demeanor and input from social workers. Officials say the AI system will provide an additional source of information rather than an automated determination.
The Home Office awarded a contract worth $433,000 over three years to Akhter Computers Ltd. The technology will undergo further testing before a planned rollout in 2027.
Face scans ‘never designed for children seeking asylum’
Critics question whether the technology can reliably assess children seeking asylum.
The British Association of Social Workers warned the proposal could lead to major mistakes.
“Assessing the ages of migrants is a complex process which social workers are best placed to do,” said Sam Baron, the organization’s interim chief executive officer. “This important task should not be open to shortcuts through artificial intelligence, especially as the pitfalls of getting it wrong can lead to major safeguarding risks.”
The Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium, a coalition of more than 100 organizations, is preparing a report later this month examining the use of AI age assessments. The group argues children seeking asylum often fall outside the norms used to train such systems because of trauma, undernutrition and the physical effects of long journeys.
The concerns echo criticism voiced when the government first proposed using AI for age assessments last summer.
“AI face scans were never designed for children seeking asylum, and risk producing disastrous, life-changing errors,” Human Rights Watch said at the time.
The organization argued algorithms cannot account for the effects of trauma, violence, dehydration, sleep deprivation or exposure to harsh conditions during sea crossings.
An incorrect age assessment could result in a child being treated as an adult, potentially denying them access to local authority care and other protections available to minors.
Government admits possibility of mistakes
The Home Office acknowledges potential risks.
In guidance published alongside the announcement, officials said facial age estimation systems can produce biased results if training data contain biases.
The department said performance can vary by ethnicity, skin tone, gender, place of birth and image quality.
It cited testing by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology showing error rates were often higher for female faces. The Home Office said it has tested commercial systems across different ethnic and gender groups and plans further evaluation before deployment.
The technology is set to be introduced as asylum claims decline from recent highs.
According to the Office for National Statistics, 93,525 people sought asylum in the U.K. in the year ending March 2026, down 12% from the previous year but still more than double pre-pandemic levels.
Government data shows just over 6,400 migrants claiming to be children underwent age assessments at the border during the same period. Officials concluded 43% were adults.
The Refugee Council argues that in past samples, 76% of young people who successfully challenged an initial determination that they were adults were later found to be children.
AI spreading faster than legislation
The proposal arrives amid a broader expansion of AI-driven surveillance technologies across Britain.
Police forces have sharply increased the use of live facial recognition cameras in public spaces, while retailers including supermarket chains have begun trials of systems designed to identify repeat shoplifters.
Civil liberties groups have repeatedly warned the technology is spreading faster than regulation.
While Britain’s High Court ruled in April that London’s Metropolitan Police had adequate safeguards for its use of live facial recognition — after rejecting a legal challenge brought by a man falsely identified as a suspect — campaigners continue to call for stricter oversight.
Unlike the EU, the U.K. has no dedicated legislation governing facial recognition technology.
Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.
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