The British government will introduce facial age estimation next year to help determine the age of asylum seekers. This technology uses AI to scan a person's face and estimate their age.
The move is intended to address the issue of many asylum seekers lacking documents to prove their age. However, tests of the technology have shown that it regularly mistakes children for adults and contains serious bias problems.
The use of this flawed technology could have life-changing consequences for asylum seekers, particularly children who may be incorrectly classified as adults and stripped of legal protections. The investigation into the technology's effectiveness raises questions about its deployment in high-stakes scenarios.
