Charities decry UK plan to use AI to assess age of young asylum seekers
The UK Home Office plans to use AI facial age estimation technology to assess the age of young asylum seekers, which has raised concerns among charities. A coalition of over 100 organizations warns that this could lead to more children being wrongly placed in adult detention facilities. They emphasize the need for comprehensive age assessments by social workers rather than relying solely on AI technology.
- ▪The Home Office has awarded a contract for AI technology to assess the age of disputed young asylum seekers.
- ▪Charities warn that using AI could result in children being incorrectly classified as adults and placed in detention.
- ▪The Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium highlights the complexities of age assessment due to trauma and other factors affecting young asylum seekers.
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| Original publisher | World news | The Guardian |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/01/charities-decry-uk-plan-to-use-ai-to-assess-age-of-young-asylum-seekers |
| Publication time | Mon, 01 Jun 2026 05:00:08 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-06-01T05:24:56.723Z |
| Last seen | 2026-06-01T05:57:23.373Z |
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The Home Office has awarded a contract to use AI facial age estimation technology on young asylum seekers whose age is disputed. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenThe Home Office has awarded a contract to use AI facial age estimation technology on young asylum seekers whose age is disputed. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty ImagesImmigration and asylumCharities decry UK plan to use AI to assess age of young asylum seekersCoalition of more than 100 organisations says move could lead to more children ending up in adult detention facilitiesDiane TaylorMon 1 Jun 2026 01.00 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleA coalition of more than a hundred refugee children’s organisations has said controversial plans to use AI to assess the age of young asylum seekers could…
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