Identity checks, border security and control, and analysis of data about visa and asylum applications are now being carried out using highly advanced information technologies. Decision-making process will soon be based on pre-determined data, which in turn will be based on the amount of information collected previously concerning individuals from a specific group or country. Artificial intelligence (AI) will be developed to assess data. The assessment, however, could largely be pre-determined by designing algorithms that would favour one choice of data over the other. This is an area that needs careful consideration, bearing in mind the impact of asylum-related decisions on people’s lives.
AI offers an undeniable opportunity to modernise migration management. Maximising the efficiency is one of the key objectives put forward by those who seek the use of AI in migration management. Modernisation, however, must be carried out in such a way as to minimise the dangerous effects and risks for asylum seekers. Human rights standards must apply to limit the negative effects of technological advancements, including application of AI. The law and practice should include safeguards against the misuse of AI in migration management. For example, AI systems with high or unacceptable risks of potential human rights violations, such as “social scoring” and categorisation, or illegal content generation targeting migrants, should be banned.
The Council of Europe has initiated the preparation of a future legally binding instrument on AI. The new European Union legislation in this area, with the recently prepared Digital Services Act and Artificial Intelligence Act, did not specifically address the application of AI in migration management. There is, therefore, an urgent need to establish a clear framework for the application of AI systems in migration management, based on the Council of Europe standards on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.