AI assistants have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when providing election recommendations, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has stated, issuing warnings about a possible risk to democratic processes just over a week before national elections.
Study Shows Repeated Partiality in Chatbot Recommendations
The quartet of AI assistants tested by the AP “often end up with the same two parties”, irrespective of the voter’s inquiry or input, the regulator explained in a report published ahead of the 29 October election.
In more than half of the cases, the chatbot suggested either the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of the politician Geert Wilders or the leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.
Some parties, such as the moderate CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, despite the fact that the voter’s query precisely aligns with the positions of these political entities, the study indicated.
Official Warns Against Relying on AI Assistants for Voting Guidance
The vice-chair of the AP, the official Monique Verdier, stated that while chatbots may seem like clever tools, “as a voting aid, they consistently fail”. Citizens were being steered toward a political group that did not necessarily align with their political views, she added.
“This immediately affects a fundamental pillar of democracy: the integrity of free and fair elections,” said Verdier. “We thus caution against using AI chatbots for voting advice, as their operation is unclear and hard to confirm.”
Voting Background and Party Dynamics
Netherlands citizens vote on 29 October in an election that will be closely watched across the continent for the showing of the Freedom party.
The right-leaning group of Wilders is leading the polls but the gap to the left-wing and centre-right parties appears to be narrowing, with many voters yet to make up their minds.
All major parties have rejected a coalition with the Freedom party, meaning the party that comes second is most likely to provide the next prime minister.
Inadvertent Prejudice Linked to Chatbot Functioning
The AP emphasised that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a consequence of the manner in which AI assistants function.
