The UK Home Office is facing calls to disclose more information about its use of artificial intelligence in immigration enforcement and asylum processing, following a report warning that the technology is being deployed with limited public scrutiny.
The report, published by digital rights organisation Open Rights Group (ORG) describes the growing use of automated tools across the immigration system and raises concerns about accountability, discrimination, and the ability of affected people to challenge errors.
According to The Independent’s report published on October 27 the technology is being used to assist with asylum interview summaries, prioritise immigration cases, examine mobile phone data, and support border surveillance. The Home Office is also trialling technology designed to estimate the ages of people seeking asylum.
What the Report Found
ORG says the government has provided insufficient information about how these systems operate, how their accuracy is assessed, and what safeguards protect people affected by their use.
One area of concern is the use of AI to summarise asylum interviews. The summaries can help caseworkers navigate lengthy interview records, but campaigners warn that inaccurate or incomplete summaries could affect how an applicant’s account is understood.
The report also raises questions about automated systems that help prioritise immigration cases and technologies used to identify potential sham marriages.
These tools do not all perform the same function, and the report’s findings should not be taken to mean that every immigration decision is made automatically.
MPs Demand Greater Transparency
Several MPs have called for more information about the systems, including the assessments used to evaluate their accuracy and potential discriminatory effects.
They argue that people affected by automated tools should know when the technology has been used and have a meaningful way to challenge errors.
The concerns extend beyond individual asylum cases to wider questions about the use of facial recognition, surveillance technologies and personal data by public authorities.
Home Office Defends Its Safeguards
The Home Office says AI assists rather than replaces human decision-makers. It maintains that trained caseworkers make asylum decisions and that the tools are subject to performance monitoring and quality-assurance processes.
The department has also committed to publishing updated evaluations of its tools.
The central issue remains whether the government can provide sufficient transparency to demonstrate that the systems are accurate, fair and appropriately supervised, particularly when they affect people making high-stakes immigration and asylum claims.
