AI assistants are proving to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when offering voting advice, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has stated, raising alarms about a possible risk to democratic processes just over a week before the country’s general election.
Testing Reveals Repeated Partiality in Chatbot Recommendations
The quartet of AI assistants evaluated by the authority “frequently recommend identical two parties”, regardless of the voter’s inquiry or input, the watchdog explained in a report released 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 led by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans.
Some parties, such as the moderate CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, even when the voter’s query exactly matches the stances of these parties, the study indicated.
Authority Figure Cautions Against Using AI Chatbots for Voting Guidance
The deputy head of the AP, Monique Verdier, commented that while AI assistants appear to be smart resources, “for election guidance, they repeatedly fall short”. Voters were being pushed toward a party that might not correspond to their political views, she added.
“This directly impacts a fundamental pillar of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” said Verdier. “We thus caution against employing AI assistants for election recommendations, as their operation is unclear and hard to confirm.”
Voting Background and Political Landscape
The Dutch head to the polls on October 29 in an electoral contest that will be keenly observed around Europe for the performance of the PVV.
The right-leaning group of Geert Wilders is leading the polls but the gap to the left-wing and centre-right parties appears to be narrowing, with many voters still undecided.
All major parties have ruled out an alliance with the PVV, implying the party that comes second is highly probable to provide the next prime minister.
Inadvertent Prejudice Linked to Chatbot Functioning
The AP stressed that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a consequence of the way AI chatbots operate.
