Officials will employ artificial intelligence to assist in estimating the age of asylum seekers who claim to be minors.

Immigration Minister Angela Eagle stated on Tuesday that the government will pilot technology designed to assess a person’s age based on facial characteristics.

This initiative is the latest effort aimed at helping the Labor Minister leverage AI to address public service issues without incurring significant expenses.

The announcement coincided with the public release of a report by David Bolt, the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. A crucial report indicated efforts to estimate the age of new arrivals.

Eagle mentioned in a formal statement to Parliament: “We believe the most economically feasible approach is likely to involve estimating age based on facial analysis. This technology can provide age estimates with known accuracy for individuals whose age is disputed or uncertain, drawing from millions of verifiable images.”

“In cases where it’s ambiguous whether the individual undergoing age assessment is over 18 or not claiming to be a minor, facial age estimation offers a potentially swift and straightforward method to validate judgments against the technology’s estimates.”

Eagle is launching a pilot program to evaluate the technology, aiming for its integration into official age verification processes by next year.

John Lewis announced earlier this year that it will be the first UK retailer to facilitate online knife sales using facial age estimation technology.

The Home Office has previously utilized AI in other sectors, such as identifying fraudulent marriages. However, this tool has faced criticism for disproportionately targeting specific nationalities.

Although there are concerns that AI tools may intensify biases in governmental decision-making, the minister is exploring additional applications. Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle announced a partnership with OpenAI, the organization behind ChatGPT, to investigate AI deployment in areas like justice, safety, and education.

Bolt expressed that the mental health of young asylum seekers has deteriorated due to failings in the age verification system, especially in Dover, where the influx of small boats is processed.

“Many concerns raised over the past decade regarding policy and practices remain unresolved,” Bolt cautioned, emphasizing that the challenging conditions at the Dover processing facility could hinder accurate age assessments.

He added: “I have heard accounts of young individuals who felt distrustful and disheartened in their encounters with Home Office officials, where hope has faded and their mental well-being is suffering.”

His remarks echo a report from the Refugee Council, indicating that at least 1,300 children have been mistakenly identified as adults over an 18-month period.

Last month, scholars from the London School of Economics and the University of Bedfordshire suggested that the Home Office should be stripped of its authority to make decisions regarding lonely asylum seekers.