As the UK government gears up to deploy facial recognition technology for age assessments at borders, concerns are mounting that this move could put vulnerable child migrants at risk. Critics, including children’s charities and human rights organisations, argue that flawed AI systems will lead to an alarming increase in the misclassification of minors as adults, potentially exposing them to danger in an already precarious asylum process.
Flawed Technology at the Forefront
The Home Office’s plans to implement AI-driven age estimation systems have sparked outrage, particularly over their potential racial bias. Maddie Harris of the Humans for Rights Network emphasised that numerous black children fleeing conflict zones could find themselves wrongly classified and placed into adult accommodation. This concern isn’t unfounded; in 2025 alone, a staggering 755 children were erroneously identified as adults upon entering the UK, according to government data from the Helen Bamber Foundation.
Harris stated that the introduction of this technology is more about reinforcing existing policies than genuinely safeguarding children. “This is not about protecting children – this is about shoring up the decisions that [the authorities] are making,” she asserted. Acknowledging that even the best systems could have a 30-month margin of error, she highlighted the additional risks for unaccompanied minors.
The Stakes for Vulnerable Children
The ramifications of misidentification are severe. Children who are misclassified as adults would be subjected to the same harsh measures as adult asylum seekers, including detention and deportation. Harris warned of the dangers that arise when unaccompanied minors are housed alongside adults, especially given the rising tensions surrounding asylum accommodation in the UK.
The facial recognition technology being considered, developed by German firm Cognitec, has previously demonstrated a tendency to overestimate the ages of minors, particularly those from sub-Saharan Africa. As highlighted by Foxglove, a UK tech watchdog, the implications of such biases are significant, with calls mounting for the government to abandon the use of children in testing these experimental systems.
Trauma and Age Perception
The Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium has raised essential points regarding the inadequacy of the technology in assessing children who have faced harrowing journeys. It has been noted that trauma can dramatically affect a child’s physical appearance, complicating efforts to accurately determine their age. Petra Molnar, co-founder of Migration and Tech Monitor, likened the reliance on these systems to discredited scientific practices from the colonial era, which relied on physical characteristics to categorise individuals.
“Relying on these kinds of imperfect tools is not the solution,” Molnar stated, adding that the impacts of malnutrition, dehydration, and torture can physically alter a child’s appearance, making them appear older than they are.
Government’s Response
In response to mounting criticism, a spokesperson for the Home Office defended the initiative, stating, “Age assessments are a vital tool in maintaining border security. As part of our work to make this process more robust and consistent, we are exploring cutting-edge AI technology to verify migrants’ ages.” However, many remain sceptical that such systems will enhance the accuracy of age assessments or protect vulnerable children.
Why it Matters
The introduction of AI age-detection technology could have catastrophic consequences for child migrants, placing them in harm’s way due to flawed algorithms and racial biases. As the government pushes forward with these plans, the urgent call from advocates for a more humane and accurate approach to age assessment grows louder. Protecting the most vulnerable should be a priority, not a secondary consideration in the pursuit of border security. The stakes have never been higher, and the time for a reevaluation of these policies is now.
