ace‘Digital hostile environment’: AI secretly being embedded across Home Office, report claims
AI has been embedded across the Home Office in near-total secrecy, reinforcing the so-called hostile environment for immigration, according to research. Tasks from the detection of potential sham marriages to determining the age of asylum seekers and checking through the contents of phones of new arrivals now involve use of the technology, according to a report by Open Rights Group (ORG). It is also being used to conduct surveillance of borders, through live facial recognition and AI-powered drones and satellite…
Open Rights Group says AI tools in Home Office immigration and asylum work are opaque and can replicate bias, with accountability unclear when they fail and vulnerable people bearing the greatest risks.
The report relies on limited published Home Office information, freedom of information responses and MPs' questions, so the full extent and influence of AI use is unclear, and the Home Office disputes that AI makes decisions.
Evidence
- JournalismThe Guardian2026-10-27
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Truvace Impact Record TRV-2026-2277, v1: “‘Digital hostile environment’: AI secretly being embedded across Home Office, report claims.” Truvace, 2026-10-27. /record/TRV-2026-2277 (accessed at citation time). sha256 ef7e1ec8fc38c961…
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