AI age checks risk child refugees being treated as adults

Plans by the UK government to introduce artificial intelligence facial age-estimation technology for verifying the ages of migrants have drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups and children's charities. These organisations are warning that the flawed and potentially biased systems could lead to vulnerable child refugees being wrongly identified as adults. This could result in them being housed in adult accommodation and facing detention or removal from the UK.

Concerns over Bias and Error Margins

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Maddie Harris, from the Humans for Rights Network, stated that her organisation has already assisted numerous children who were incorrectly placed in the adult system during border age assessments conducted by immigration officers. She expressed concern that the introduction of AI would not improve this situation, suggesting it was a "cheap process" aimed at reinforcing existing decisions rather than protecting children. The government has conceded that even the most sophisticated systems can have an error margin of up to 30 months. Harris highlighted that this inaccuracy poses a significant risk to children, particularly those from countries like Sudan and Somalia, who she believes are already subjected to being "adultified" by the current system.

The potential consequences for unaccompanied children are severe. They could be forced into accommodation alongside adults, increasing their exposure to risks and violence, especially in light of rising protests targeting asylum seeker accommodation. The technology in question, developed by German firm Cognitec, has previously shown bias against sub-Saharan Africans in tests, tending to overestimate the ages of minors, according to an investigation by Lighthouse Reports in June. Foxglove, a UK-based tech monitor, has labelled these systems as relying on "racist bias" and urged the government not to use children to test experimental technology.

Trauma and Journey Impacts

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The Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium has also voiced concerns, pointing out the technology's potential inability to accurately assess children who have endured difficult journeys. Trauma, malnutrition, dehydration, and torture can all physically impact a person's appearance, effectively "aging" them. Petra Molnar, co-founder of the Migration and Tech Monitor, drew parallels between this technology and discredited 19th-century pseudoscience like phrenology, describing it as "neo-phrenology" that categorises individuals based on physical features. She argued that relying on such imperfect tools is not a viable solution, especially when the context of a child's difficult journey is not considered.

A Home Office spokesperson stated that age assessments are a crucial element of border security and that the department is exploring AI technology to enhance the robustness and consistency of these processes. However, Molnar cautioned that previous attempts in Europe to implement AI in border policy, such as lie-detection systems for refugees, had failed and did not progress beyond pilot stages.

What Happens Next

It remains unclear when the Home Office plans to fully implement the facial age-estimation technology or what measures will be put in place to mitigate the identified risks of bias and error, particularly concerning child refugees.