UK plans to use AI face scans to judge asylum seekers’ ages

The British government is set to try a new tool next year that will look at a person’s face and guess how old they are. The idea is to help border officers decide if someone claiming to be a child is really under 18. This would be the first time such technology is used on people in real life, not just online. Tests of the software show it often misreads children as adults and shows strong bias against certain groups. For example, the best algorithm tested was less accurate for people from Sub‑Saharan Africa, especially girls. A 13‑year‑old could be marked as an adult. The same problem shows up in other studies, where the age estimate depends on race, gender and photo quality. The Home Office has stopped a scientific panel that could have warned them about these issues. A former committee member called the scans “hideously inaccurate. ” The government says it will use the AI only as an extra tool and that officers can still make their own judgment.The plan was first announced in July 2025, but the rollout has been pushed back to 2027. Officials say they want to stop adults pretending to be children, but critics worry that the technology could lock out real minors from protection. Many asylum seekers arrive after dangerous boat trips and already face stressful first‑encounter procedures that can affect the quality of their photos. The UK has spent more than $400, 000 on face‑scanning tech from a German company. That system also misclassifies younger people as older, especially when photos are low quality or taken in harsh lighting. The company says it is working to reduce bias, but the problem remains. Experts warn that using facial age estimation at borders could become routine and strip people of dignity. They argue the risk of error is too high for such a critical decision, especially when people already suffer trauma. Human rights groups have called on the government to abandon the plan.