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The UK Will Scan Asylum-Seekers' Faces for Age Checks--Despite Knowing the Tech Is Flawed Age verification is consuming the internet . From social media bans in Australia to porn restrictions in half of US states, for many having to prove their age to access websites is becoming an everyday requirement . But one of the key technologies underpinning many of these age checks is about to seep into the offline world--with potentially life-changing consequences for people having their age predicted by AI. Starting next year, the British government is planning to introduce facial age estimation--where AI scans your face and suggests how old you are --to help determine the age of asylum seekers arriving at the United Kingdom's border. The move is believed to be the first time that a so-called facial age estimation (FAE) system has been used in this way.

The previous Conservative government introduced a plan to examine the bones and teeth of some migrants in order to verify their age. But Labour ministers are thought to be sceptical about the plan because it relied on people being taken to separate facilities and instead wanted a verification system that could be used at the border. Mr Bolt's report noted the safeguarding risk of a child incorrectly assessed to be an adult having to share a room with an adult stranger – as well as an adult incorrectly assessed as a child being placed with other children. The inspector highlighted the case of a male small boat arrival who claimed they were 17, who the Home Office assessed to be 22 due to physical characteristics such as his "deep voice", "fully developed facial structure" and "thick black stubble". He criticised the Home Office's use of "generic physical characteristics" and "failing to take into account the young person's individual circumstances".