London [UK], July 23: Artificial intelligence (AI) technology will be trialled to assess disputed ages of asylum seekers who say they are children, the British Home Office has said.
Ministers hope to roll out facial age estimation for migrants arriving by small boats and lorries over 2026, subject to further testing of the technology to go ahead this year.
The technology, trained on millions of images of people with confirmed ages, has been decided as the "most cost-effective option" to assess ages in such cases where it is unknown or disputed, according to Border Security Minister Angela Eagle.
The announcement on Tuesday comes as the borders watchdog report into Home Office age assessments said it is "inevitable" that some decisions will be wrong without a "foolproof test" of chronological age.
The watchdog added this is "clearly a cause for concern, especially where a child is denied the rights and protections to which they are entitled."
Currently initial age decisions are made by Home Office staff based on a migrant's physical appearance and demeanour.
Announcing the move, Eagle said in a written statement: "Accurately assessing the age of individuals is an incredibly complex and difficult task, and the Home Office has spent a number of years analysing which scientific and technological methods would best assist the current process, including looking at the role that artificial intelligence technology can play.
"Early assessments suggest that Facial Age Estimation could produce workable results much quicker than other potential methods of scientific or technological age assessment, such as bone X-rays or MRI scans, but at a fraction of the cost, and with no requirement for a physical medical procedure or accompanying medical supervision."
It comes as borders watchdog David Bolt's report also published on Tuesday looked at Home Office processes into age assessments, where those crossing the English Channel and first processed at Western Jet Foil, in Dover, Kent, make up a bulk of initial age decisions.
Between January 2023 and January 2025, Bolt said 20 out of 59 cases where a person was sent to Manston processing centre as an adult were then later sent back to Western Jet Foil and accepted as being a child.
Source: Qatar Tribune
