The UK will scan the faces of asylum seekers to check their ages, despite knowing there is a glitch in the technology

While the Home Office says the facial scan is designed to be an “additional” tool for border officers and will not “replace or eliminate human judgement”, it has not answered questions about how it plans to use the technology in real-world environments. “In cases of uncertainty, individuals will always be treated as children until further assessment is made,” the spokesperson says.

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The UK government first announced its plans to use virtual age estimation alongside border staff judgments to assess migrants in July 2025. The Home Office has since delayed the launch of the systems until 2027. Saying It will use “cutting-edge AI technology” to “crack down on fake claims” with the aim of preventing “adults trying to game the system”.

Over the past five years, AI facial scans have emerged as a key component of controversial online age verification programs, as lawmakers have forced social media platforms, porn sites, and some retailers to verify the ages of their users. It was so It has been tried In some pubs and shops in the UK. Facial age estimation works by analyzing someone’s facial features – with the platforms trained on millions of age-classified faces – to produce an age estimate. In controlled laboratory tests, the best algorithms Predictable The person’s age is about 2.5 years.

However, results can vary widely depending on the algorithm, the person’s gender, demographic details, and other factors. Poor quality images, such as those with poor lighting, can significantly reduce systems performance. (Case in point: People have cheated some systems Using images of characters from video games.) It appears that the Ministry of the Interior was aware of the potential problems with the technology and is still moving forward with its program.

A leaked Home Office report produced in April 2025, which was completed before the government purchased the facial scanning technology, details the testing of seven FAE algorithms against more than 2.5 million images. However, the internal report says the unnamed “best-performing algorithm” had “significant deviations” when tested on images of sub-Saharan Africans. On average, this system also tended to predict that a 17-year-old would be older than an 18-year-old, and it performed worse for females.

Tens of thousands of people apply for asylum in the UK every year, many of whom subsequently arrive in the country dangerousTrips that require physical effort Small boats Crossing the English Channel. Currently, border agents who question the age of a person who claims to be under 18 can evaluate their physical appearance, answers to interview questions, and general behavior, to make an initial determination about their age. The Home Office says these initial age estimates are made at “first encounter”. guidance. Since 2010, 40% of people who have undergone an age assessment have been classified as adults, according to official statistics. statistics.

The leaked Home Office report says its findings are based primarily on tests using high-quality photographs taken of documented people, and this could mean the algorithms’ accuracy rates will be worse in practice. The Ministry of Interior has Shown FAE technology will assist immigration officers who are assessing age while working at the point of first encounter.