AI assistants are proving to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when offering voting advice, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has reported, raising alarms about a potential threat to democratic processes just over a week before national elections.
Testing Reveals Consistent Bias in AI Suggestions
The four chatbots tested by the authority “often end up with the same two parties”, irrespective of the voter’s inquiry or input, the watchdog noted in a report published ahead of the late October vote.
For over 50% of instances, the AI recommended either the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of the politician Geert Wilders or the progressive GroenLinks-PvdA led by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans.
Some parties, such as the moderate CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, even when the voter’s query precisely aligns with the positions of these political entities, the study pointed out.
Official Warns Against Using AI Chatbots for Voting Guidance
The deputy head of the data protection agency, Monique Verdier, stated that while chatbots may seem like clever tools, “for election guidance, they repeatedly fall short”. Citizens were being steered toward a political group that might not correspond to their ideological beliefs, she emphasized.
“This directly impacts a cornerstone of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” Verdier stated. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants 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 election that will be closely watched across the continent for the performance of the PVV.
The right-leaning group of Wilders is leading the polls but the gap to the GroenLinks-PvdA and CDA appears to be narrowing, with numerous electors still undecided.
Every significant political faction have rejected a coalition with the PVV, implying the party that comes second is highly probable to provide the next prime minister.
Unintentional Bias Attributed to Chatbot Functioning
The AP stressed that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “noted flaws” are a result of the way AI chatbots operate.
