Category Errors

The Home Office deployed an automated system known as the ‘Streaming Tool’ in 2015 to help process the millions of visa applications it receives every year. In 2019, however, the tool began to attract public criticism over its opacity and potentially discriminatory operation. This culminated in August 2020, when the Home Office suspended use of the Streaming Tool in the face of a looming legal challenge. This chapter explores how automation was deployed in visa applications and how it ultimately failed.