European countries are increasingly using digital technologies to limit migration, raising the risk of “disproportionate and unlawful discrimination, racism and surveillance.” Amnesty International wrote about this in a report published on Monday. Therefore, the right to asylum, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is under pressure.

Amnesty refers, among other things, to “lie detection systems” that use artificial intelligence (AI). Since 2018, this system has been used by at least Hungary, Greece and Latvia. The system analyzes “details of facial expressions using facial and emotion recognition technology.” This system ‘tests’ whether migrants answer honestly regarding answers, for example, their origins. There is no scientific consensus that polygraphs, including those administered by AI, provide reliable results. Under the AI ​​Act, a historic AI legislative package approved by the EU in late 2023, the use of such technology in education and the workplace is prohibited.

AI watchtower

Amnesty also reviewed the technology used by the United States Border Patrol. For example, the government uses monitoring software to observe migrants and asylum seekers, and there are AI-controlled watchtowers along the border with Mexico. According to Amnesty, this increases “the risk of ethnic profiling of black, Latin American and other racialized communities.”

According to Amnesty, this type of technology reinforces the systemic discrimination inherent in border controls. “Racism is ingrained in the migration system and asylum management,” Amnesty said. “This technology is based in part on prejudice, compromising the right to non-discrimination and other human rights.”

Even beyond AI, many countries are introducing digital monitoring of migrants. According to Amnesty, a growing number of laws are being introduced in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Norway and the UK “which, among other things, allow the confiscation of asylum seekers’ phones.” The Border Patrol then checks to see whether the migrants’ stories match the information on their phones.

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