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Towards Autonomous Borders? Assessing the Human Rights and Rule of Law Challenges of the Deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems for Migration Management

When: Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 1:00 PM - 5:45 PM
Where: Room 2.10, Second Floor, School of Law Queen Mary University of London Mile End Road London E1 4NS

The (B)OrderS: Centre for the Legal Study of Borders and Migration and the Human Rights Law Centre at Queen Mary University of London invite you to the workshop ‘Towards Autonomous Borders? Assessing the Human Rights and Rule of Law Challenges of the Deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems for Migration Management’.

In recent years, the exponential increase in computational power coupled with the availability of large quantities of data has heightened the burst in interest for Artificial Intelligence (AI). In the field of migration, broadly including immigration, asylum and border management, AI has the potential to revolutionise the way states manage mobility, decision-making and community integration. AI promises modernised identity checks and border controls, as well as expedited and more efficient decision-making in relation to applications for visas, residence permits or asylum applications. In immigration systems suffering from backlogs, lengthy delays and uncertain outcomes, the deployment of AI technology appears as a panacea for treating pathogenic practices and promoting neutrality, objectivity and standardisation in decision-making, thus decreasing or restricting cases of individuals subjected to discriminatory treatment. At the same time, the increasing utilisation of AI applications seems to be heading towards the development of highly autonomous borders which can automatically pre-determine one’s right of entry or stay in the country based on their legal status, sophisticated risk assessments and biometric analysis, and limit human intervention to very few highly complex cases. This autonomy may also reinforce existing non-entreé policies and entails significant implications for the protection of human rights, such as the right to respect for private life and protection of personal data, non-discrimination and effective remedies. This workshop aims to critically evaluate these challenges stemming from AI applications in the field of migration management.

Programme

13:00 – 13:15: Welcome and introduction to the workshop

  • Niovi Vavoula (Queen Mary University of London) and Alexandra Karaiskou (European University Institute)

13:15-14:45 Panel I: The Transformation of Borders in the Era of AI

Chair and discussant: Elspeth Guild, Queen Mary University of London

Speakers:

  • Petra Molnar (York University / Harvard University) - Technological Violence through High-Risk Experiments at the Border
  • Amanda Musco Eklund (Umeå University) - Operationalising Foreseeability in the Opaque Context of Automated Border Control and Risk Assessments
  • Dimitri Van Der Meerssche (Queen Mary University of London) - Building the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS): Filtering Movement through the Computational Calculus of Risk
  • Niovi Vavoula (Queen Mary University of London) - Revisiting Informatisation of the Body in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Era: When the Foreigner Is the Border

14:45 – 15:00 Coffee Break

15:00-16:30 - Panel II: AI and the Future of Asylum Claims

Chair and discussant: Claudia Aradau, King’s College London

Speakers:

  • Ludivine Stewart (European University Institute) - Asylum Procedures and Data-driven Algorithms: Quo Vadis Due Process?
  • Francesca Palmiotto (Hertie School's Centre for Fundamental Rights) - Automated Decisions and Procedural Fairness: Seeking Standards for Asylum Seekers and Refugees
  • Meltem Ineli Ciger (Suleyman Demirel University / European University Institute) - AI in Resettlement Processes: A Discussion on Its Benefits, Risks and Legal Consequences
  • Ismini Mathioudaki (Scuola Normale Superiore) and Alexandra Karaiskou (European University Institute) - Artificial Intelligence at the Border and Digital Refoulement

16:30 – 16:45 Conclusion

  • Niovi Vavoula, Queen Mary University of London and Alexandra Karaiskou (European University Institute)

About the Speakers

Petra Molnar is the Associate Director of the Refugee Law Lab at York University and a 2022-2023 Fellow at the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

Amanda Musco Eklund is a Doctoral student in EU border control and new technologies at Umeå University.

Dimitri van der Meerssche is a Lecturer in Law and Fellow at the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences (IHSS) at Queen Mary University of London.

Ludivine Stewart is a Ph.D. researcher at the European University Institute (EUI) in Law,

Francesca Palmiotto is a postdoctoral researcher at Hertie School's Centre for Fundamental Rights working in the project "AFAR: Algorithmic Fairness for Asylum Seekers and Refugees" funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

Meltem Ineli Ciger is a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute and an Associate Professor at the Suleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Law in Turkey.

Ismini – Nikoleta Mathioudaki is a Ph.D. candidate at Scuola Normale Superiore,

Alexandra Karaiskou is a PhD researcher at the European University Institute and a lawyer licensed to practice in Greece.

Niovi Vavoula is Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Migration and Security at Queen Mary University of London.

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