AI assistants have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when offering voting advice, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has reported, issuing warnings about a potential threat to democracy just eight days before national elections.
Testing Reveals Consistent Bias in AI Suggestions
The quartet of AI assistants tested by the AP “frequently recommend identical two parties”, irrespective of the voter’s inquiry or input, the watchdog explained in a report published ahead of the 29 October election.
In more than half of the cases, the chatbot suggested either the right-wing PVV of the politician Geert Wilders or the progressive GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans.
Certain groups, such as the centre-right CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, despite the fact that the voter’s query precisely aligns with the stances of these political entities, the study pointed out.
Authority Figure Cautions Against Relying on AI Assistants for Election Advice
The deputy head of the data protection agency, Monique Verdier, commented that while chatbots may seem like clever tools, “as a voting aid, they consistently fail”. Voters were being pushed toward a party that did not necessarily align with their political views, she added.
“This directly impacts a fundamental pillar of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” said Verdier. “We therefore warn against using AI chatbots for voting advice, as their functioning is opaque and difficult to verify.”
Voting Background and Political Landscape
Netherlands citizens vote on 29 October in an election that will be keenly observed around Europe for the showing of the Freedom party.
The far-right party of Wilders is leading the polls but the gap to the GroenLinks-PvdA and CDA appears to be narrowing, with many voters still undecided.
Every significant political faction have rejected a coalition with the PVV, implying the party that comes second is highly probable to supply the future head of government.
Inadvertent Prejudice Attributed to AI Operation
The authority stressed that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a result of the manner in which AI assistants function.
