AI technology will now guess the age of customers buying alcohol in supermarkets as the government plans to roll out new ID technology. 

The technology will be installed on tills and estimate how old you are through a three-second scan of your face. If you look under 25 (and we all want to), then your ID will be checked by the shop assistant before you can buy booze.

The new technology is already in place in Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Co-op, which took part in a trial using cameras installed on self-service tills, but has not yet been rolled out beyond testing.

In other trials, the AI technology was used as ‘a guide for the till operator to help retailers make more informed judgements’. 

Policing minister Chris Philip said the government was ‘keen to enable the secure and appropriate use of new technologies that can improve the experience of consumers and retailers’ which is not possible under current legislation.

Mr Philip continued: ‘We are therefore consulting on whether to amend the act so as to allow digital identities and technology to play a role in age verification.’ 

In his bid to change the law to make the UK more digital ID friendly, Mr Philip has launched a consultation into seeing if ‘digital identities, age estimation and other technology’ can help staff assess if someone is old enough.

The government has said it will not be compulsory to have a digital ID. 

However, the Home Office has admitted digital proof of age tools are ‘less developed’ and new standards would be needed as the Licensing Act 2003 would need to include new technology as acceptable ID, rather than physical IDs being checked by staff.

Yoti’s technology was part of a Home Office trial for supermarkets selling alcohol, and by Instagram for some age checks. The firm says it does not store personal identification and deletes images used in the process.

However, it is being sued in the US over privacy laws. 

The Home office believes the new tech could reduce assaults on staff as customers may accept the technology’s decision more and that it may also have a positive impact on alcohol-related crime and disorder. 

The technology is not facial recognition in the traditional sense of matching faces to identities, but could still be subject to some of the same issues, including around racial bias.

In fact, data found by Yogi revealed a higher error when distinguishing darker skin tones to light skin tones.

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