Charities decry UK plan to use AI to assess age of young asylum seekers

Coalition of more than 100 organisations says move could lead to more children ending up in adult detention facilities

A 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 lead to more children wrongly ending up in adult prisons or detention centres.

The warning follows a Home Office announcement on Friday of a contract to roll out AI facial age estimation technology on young asylum seekers whose age is disputed.