Le système d'apprentissage automatique de l'ASFC évalue tous les entrants aux frontières sans audit indépendant
L'Indicateur de conformité des voyageurs de l'ASFC attribue des scores de conformité à tous les entrants aux postes frontaliers terrestres, avec une expansion nationale prévue d'ici 2027, sans Évaluation de l'incidence algorithmique publiée, sans audit indépendant signalé, et avec des préoccupations de biais identifiées par des experts.
The Canada Border Services Agency has deployed a predictive analytics tool called the Traveller Compliance Indicator (TCI) that assigns a compliance score to travellers entering Canada at land border ports of entry. The system is built on five years of traveller compliance data and is intended to direct officer attention to higher-risk entrants. The actual decision on whether to refer a traveller for secondary examination rests with the border services officer.
The TCI was piloted at six land ports of entry in 2023. In September 2025, reporting revealed that CBSA plans to expand the system to all land ports of entry by end of 2027, with air and marine ports to follow. CBSA confirmed the expansion timeline.
University of Toronto professor Ebrahim Bagheri, a responsible AI researcher, identified a "major risk" of bias "against certain subpopulations" — citing patterns consistent with bias documented in other AI risk-assessment systems, such as the COMPAS recidivism tool. Bagheri stated: "The only way you can make a system better is if you allow independent scrutiny of the system."
CBSA stated it is "actively" working to minimize bias and has "already taken several important steps" including monitoring performance across equity groups. No independent audit of the TCI has been publicly reported. CBSA's annual privacy reports for 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 record zero privacy investigations and zero privacy audits across the entire agency and make no mention of the TCI. No Algorithmic Impact Assessment for the TCI has been published on the Open Government Portal, despite CBSA having published AIAs for other systems.
The TCI operates in a consequential decision context: border entry decisions can result in secondary inspection, detention, refusal of entry, or seizure. The system scores all entrants at equipped ports, not a subset. The federal Directive on Automated Decision-Making requires completion and publication of an Algorithmic Impact Assessment and peer review by qualified experts for automated decision systems at higher impact levels.
Préjudices
L'indicateur de conformité des voyageurs de l'ASFC attribue des scores de conformité aux voyageurs basés sur des données historiques pouvant encoder des schémas d'application passés influencés par la discrétion des agents et le ciblage démographique. Sans audit indépendant, le système peut attribuer systématiquement des scores de risque plus élevés aux voyageurs de certaines origines.
Preuves
2 rapports
- Expert raises alarm about bias risk in CBSA's AI border screening tool Source principale
Expert bias concerns; CBSA TCI description; absence of independent audit
- CBSA to expand use of AI screening tool at land borders to flag higher-risk travellers Source principale
National expansion plans; timeline to all land ports by 2027
Détails de la fiche
Recommandations de politiqueévalué
CBSA should commission an independent algorithmic audit of the TCI before expanding beyond pilot deployment
Ebrahim Bagheri, University of Toronto (responsible AI researcher) (1 janv. 2025)The TCI should be assessed under the federal Directive on Automated Decision-Making, with the impact assessment made publicly available
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (DADM framework) (1 janv. 2023)Évaluation éditoriale évalué
L'ICV est un système de classification par l'IA à l'échelle de la population opérant dans un contexte de décision à forts enjeux — l'entrée aux frontières — sans Évaluation de l'incidence algorithmique publiée ni audit indépendant signalé. Les propres rapports de l'ASFC sur la vie privée ne font aucune mention du système sur deux années consécutives, pendant que l'agence planifie simultanément une expansion nationale.
Historique des statuts
CBSA announced national expansion to all land ports by 2027; still no independent audit; annual privacy reports show zero privacy audits of the system
TCI piloted at six land ports; no independent audit conducted; expert bias concerns raised
Entités impliquées
Systèmes d'IA impliqués
L'ICV est le système d'IA qui attribue des scores de risque aux entrants aux frontières
Fiches connexes
- AI in Canadian Government Automated Decision-Makingrelated
- IRCC Machine-Learning Triage Sorts Millions of Visa Applications Using Models Trained on Historical Decisionsrelated
- AI Systems as Attack Surfacesrelated
Taxonomieévalué
Historique des modifications
| Version | Date | Modification |
|---|---|---|
| v1 | 11 mars 2026 | Initial publication |