Why using voice recognition to identify refugees is controversial

Germany plans to use voice recognition software to verify the many asylum applications it receives — but the technology is far from perfect, experts warn.

According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), around 60 percent of people who sought asylum in the country in 2016 didn't have identification papers with them. 

Now, German authorities are planning to use new voice recognition software to verify the asylum seekers' country of origin, according to a report on Die Welt. 

The test, which will begin in two weeks and roll out widely in 2018, aims at analysing and identifying the dialects of people seeking asylum using recorded speech samples.  Read more...