AI assistants have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when providing election recommendations, the Netherlands’ data watchdog has stated, issuing warnings about a potential threat to democracy just over a week before national elections.
Testing Reveals Repeated Partiality in AI Suggestions
The four chatbots evaluated by the AP “often end up with the same two parties”, regardless of the user’s question or command, the watchdog explained in a report published ahead of the late October vote.
For over 50% of instances, the chatbot suggested either the right-wing PVV of the politician Geert Wilders or the leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.
Certain groups, such as the moderate CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, even when 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, commented that while AI assistants appear to be smart resources, “for election guidance, they repeatedly fall short”. Citizens were being steered toward a party that did not necessarily align with their political views, she added.
“This directly impacts a cornerstone of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” Verdier stated. “We therefore warn against using AI chatbots for election recommendations, as their operation is unclear and difficult to verify.”
Voting Background and Political Landscape
Netherlands citizens vote on October 29 in an electoral contest that will be keenly observed across the continent for the showing of the Freedom party.
The right-leaning group of Wilders is leading the polls but the lead over the GroenLinks-PvdA and CDA appears to be narrowing, with many voters yet to make up their minds.
Every significant political faction have rejected a coalition with the Freedom party, implying the runner-up party is highly probable to supply the future head of government.
Inadvertent Prejudice Attributed to Chatbot Functioning
The AP emphasised that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “noted flaws” are a consequence of the way AI chatbots operate.
