The Home Office has awarded a new contract to a Harlow-based software firm, Akhter Computers LTD, to develop AI facial recognition technology to estimate a person's age by assessing images taken of them at the border. The technology has been met with criticism from human rights campaigners, who have argued that it is 'unproven' and poses a risk to protections in place for vulnerable children.
The Home Office has awarded a new contract to a Harlow-based software firm, Akhter Computers LTD, to develop AI facial recognition technology to estimate a person's age by assessing images taken of them at the border.
This comes as the government department declared the tech will make it easier to spot adult migrants who are trying to 'game the system' by pretending to be children. However, human rights campaigners have criticised the technology, arguing that it is 'unproven' and poses a risk to protections in place for vulnerable children. The scheme, which will cost £322,000 over three years, is set to be introduced in mid-2027.
In the year ending June 2025, 111,084 claimed asylum in the UK - an increase of over 14 per cent when compared to the year prior. A group of people arriving at the Border Security Command compound in Dover, Kent on May 27, 2027. The Home Office has been testing the tech on various images of people from different gender and ethnicities, including those of asylum seekers, in its system.
However, the results have not yet been used to determine the outcome of any live cases. The tech is anticipated to be tested in asylum seeker cases at a processing centre in Dover, Western Jet Foil, next year. Trained immigration enforcement officers currently carry out age assessment using various procedures such as X-rays, MRI scans and documents. The UK government has since determined the AI recognition was the most 'cost-effective option' of analysing an asylum seeker's age.
The tech has been met with opposition from human rights campaigners, who have called on the Home Office 'to scrap' the 'deeply flawed' scheme. The government has been accused of experimenting with unproven technology to determine whether or not a child should be granted protections they desperately need and are legally entitled to. This has been described as 'cruel and unconscionable'.
The Home Office has been awarded a contract to a tech firm to develop AI facial recognition to determine the age of migrants arriving at the English Channel. More than 6,400 migrants claiming to be children were assessed for their age at the border, with nearly half found to be adults in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office.
A report, conducted by the UK government's independent immigration inspector, discovered there were several incidents where both migrant children and adults were classed in the incorrect age group. It also concluded that it was 'inevitable that some age assessments will be wrong' in the absence of a 'foolproof' testing method. The Home Office has been testing the tech on various images of people from different gender and ethnicities, including those of asylum seekers, in its system.
However, the results have not yet been used to determine the outcome of any live cases. The tech is anticipated to be tested in asylum seeker cases at a processing centre in Dover, Western Jet Foil, next year. Trained immigration enforcement officers currently carry out age assessment using various procedures such as X-rays, MRI scans and documents. The UK government has since determined the AI recognition was the most 'cost-effective option' of analysing an asylum seeker's age.
The tech has been met with opposition from human rights campaigners, who have called on the Home Office 'to scrap' the 'deeply flawed' scheme. The government has been accused of experimenting with unproven technology to determine whether or not a child should be granted protections they desperately need and are legally entitled to. This has been described as 'cruel and unconscionable'.
The Home Office has been awarded a contract to a tech firm to develop AI facial recognition to determine the age of migrants arriving at the English Channel. More than 6,400 migrants claiming to be children were assessed for their age at the border, with nearly half found to be adults in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office.
A report, conducted by the UK government's independent immigration inspector, discovered there were several incidents where both migrant children and adults were classed in the incorrect age group. It also concluded that it was 'inevitable that some age assessments will be wrong' in the absence of a 'foolproof' testing method. The Home Office has been testing the tech on various images of people from different gender and ethnicities, including those of asylum seekers, in its system.
However, the results have not yet been used to determine the outcome of any live cases. The tech is anticipated to be tested in asylum seeker cases at a processing centre in Dover, Western Jet Foil, next year. Trained immigration enforcement officers currently carry out age assessment using various procedures such as X-rays, MRI scans and documents. The UK government has since determined the AI recognition was the most 'cost-effective option' of analysing an asylum seeker's age.
The tech has been met with opposition from human rights campaigners, who have called on the Home Office 'to scrap' the 'deeply flawed' scheme. The government has been accused of experimenting with unproven technology to determine whether or not a child should be granted protections they desperately need and are legally entitled to. This has been described as 'cruel and unconscionable'
AI Facial Recognition Home Office Human Rights Campaigners Akhter Computers LTD Migrant Children Asylum Seekers English Channel Border Security Immigration Enforcement Age Assessment Facial Recognition Technology
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