Supermarkets call for new laws to let them use AI to verify customers are 18 when buying alcohol

Supermarkets are calling for new laws that let them use AI to verify a customer is over-18 when buying alcohol. The British Retail Consortium said age estimation technology would make stores'a safer place to work and shop'. Shop assistants face over 1,300 incidents of violence and abuse every day, with staff asking to check a customer's age one of the most common triggers. The call comes after successful trials by the Home Office at several UK retailers including Tesco, Asda and Morrisons over the past year. To prove their age, shoppers buying alcohol are asked to look at a camera installed in the self-checkout to undertake a facial scan.