The UK Home Office has commissioned Akhter Computers LTD to create AI-driven facial recognition tools for border age assessmnets.. This Harlow-based software firm will develop technology designed to identify adults attempting to pose as minors during the asylum process.

The £322,000 contract for Akhter Computers LTD

The Home Office has entered into a three-year agreement with Akhter Computers LTD, a software firm based in Harlow, to develop facial recognition technology. This initiative aims to provide a more "cost-effective option" for determining the age of asylum seekers compared to traditional medical methods. the decision to move toward automated assessment reflects a broader trend of using digital tools to manage migration flows, though the specific application to age determination remains highly controversial.

As the report states, the government intends for this AI to help identify adult migrants who may be "gaming the system" by presenting themselves as children. this move follows a period of significant pressure on UK borders, with 111,084 asylum claims recorded in the year ending June 2025, representing a 14 per cent increase from the previous year.

Addressing the 6,400 child-age assessment discrepancies

Current age assessment methods in the UK involve trained immigration enforcement officers using X-rays, MRI scans, and various documents. However, these processes are not without significant error. According to the Home Office, in the year ending March 2026, more than 6,400 migrants claiming to be children were assessed, and nearly half of those were ultimately found to be adults. The current reliance on expensive medical imaging like MRI scans has created a financial burden that the Home Office is clearly eager to alleviate through this software-led approach.

An independent immigration inspector's report highlighted that both children and adults have been incorrectly categorized in the past. The inspector concluded that without a "foolproof" method, some level of error in age assessment is "inevitable." The new AI contract is positioned as a response to these systemic inconsistencies.

Testing AI at the Western Jet Foil facility in Dover

The rollout of this facial recognition technology is scheduled for mid-2027, but preliminary stages will begin much sooner. The Home Office plans to test the software on asylum seeker cases at the Western Jet Foil processing centre in Dover, Kent, during the coming year.

The testing phase will involve using various images of individuals across different genders and ethnicities to refine the algorithm. While the technology is being prepared for deployment, the report notes that the results from these tests have not yet been used to influence any live legal cases.

The risk of unproven algorithms for vulnerable minors

Human rights campaigners have voiced intense opposition to the scheme, describing the use of unproven technology to determine legal protections as "cruel and unconscionable." These groups are calling on the Home Office to scrap the project, arguing that it poses a direct threat to the safety of vulnerable children.

Several critical questions remain regarding the implementation of this technology. It is currently unclear how the Home Office will mitigate the risk of algorithmic bias, especially since the software is being tested on diverse ethnicities to ensure accuracy. Furthermore, the report does not specify how the department will handle cases where the AI's estimate contradicts traditional medical evidence like MRI scans.