Chetal Patel, partner in our Immigration team has recently spoken to Personnel Today regarding the Home Office decision to scrap the use of its “streaming algorithm” to determine immigration cases.

This was an artificial intelligence tool that campaigners have described as “racist” and the decision to stop the use of the tool came ahead of a judicial review of the artificial intelligence system’s use by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI).

Speaking to Personnel Today, Chetal highlighted that “people expect the Home Office to be fully accountable. It has a list of ‘low risk’ countries where fewer supporting documents are required in certain applications or perhaps even less scrutiny applied to an application. This has been systemic in the immigration system and is rooted in its foundations.

She went on to state that “it’s no surprise that there are serious concerns that the streaming tool created a hostile environment for certain people” and noted that “it will be interesting to see what the redesigned system will look like and if indeed it is vastly different. The Home Office will be keen to avoid negative headlines in the press, particularly in light of the fact that it needs to be seen to have taken on board the lessons learned from the Windrush scandal.”

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