While European leaders are preoccupied with managing irregular migration, there is a shift happening that is equally concerning and not as visible: the use of technology, specifically artificial intelligence (AI), at Europe’s borders. According to a report from Euronews Next, experts are raising sociotechnical concern regarding the opacity and ethical ramifications surrounding this transformation, urging EU legislators to take heed of their suggestions.
Algorithmic Border Control Is Here
Currently, 12 EU countries are in various stages of implementing or trialing AI-based border control systems. This represents a shift in the way Europe has operated at its peripheries. An associate professor at the University of Warwick, Derya Ozkul, has a rather alarming statement: “Migrants are being kind of used as guinea pigs really in this area.” She underlines the gap of knowledge in policy response to how these policies would infringe on the rights of migrants and who is in charge to mitigate those gaps.
AI in Action: Real-World Applications
Currently, AI serves as a technological aid for asylum seekers. In Germany, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) uses automated language and dialect identification programs. This software helps BAMF officials identify the applicant’s nationality by analyzing two-minute voice recordings, which include five Arabic dialects: Egyptian, Gulf, Iraqi, Levantine, and Maghrebi. There is room for software enhancements.
In 2023, BAMF noted use of the dialect recognition software in 43,593 cases out of 334,000 applications received. AI is also applied for “relevant security fact” identification during the hearing of the asylees’ requests. The final judgement remains with people.
The processes that apply AI technology raise serious ethical concerns, which Ozkul succinctly highlights: “Migrants usually have no idea how the system is processing their application, and they have no say in the process.” This detachment from the process invites further scrutiny of justice and equality.
EU’s AI Ambitions: Expanding Surveillance
The EU is actively pursuing AI-assisted border surveillance systems. Centaurus is now operational in Greek detention camps located on the Evros River and employs intelligence cameras coupled with drones, which watch over the movements of migrants “with no human presence.” Another biometrical system called Hyperion, which was also funded by the EU, administers and controls the entry and exit of people through the use of fingerprint biometrics.
Maria Gavouneli, the president of the Greek National Commission for Human Rights, expresses worries that these activities resemble, in her own words, ‘an exercise of monitoring people on a broader scale’ and are paid for by the EU. She adds that the technologies may also be used for military purposes, something that she anticipates will “worsen” in the next few years.
Moreover, the EU is working on AI solutions for maritime surveillance with undertakings such as COMPASS2020, which employs underwater drones, and PROMENADE, which uses AI for data processing 370 kilometers from the coast.
A white paper from 2020 elaborates on the remaining fears the EU has regarding the employment of overriding technologies like automated fingerprint and facial recognition, AI software intended for emotion recognition, predictive algorithms, and so-called sentiment analysis.
Strategic Issues and Prospects of Border Security
The growing implementation of AI at Europe’s borders poses foreign ethical challenges. Notably, the absence of transparency, bias, and human disregard is an issue. According to Gavouneli, “We will have to confront issues of transparency and accountability.”
The use of AI in more sophisticated processes of border control makes the drawing of borders more ethical. Technology should serve humans, not the opposite. Security should not disregard basic fundamental freedoms.
