AI assistants are proving to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when offering voting advice, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has stated, issuing warnings about a potential threat to democracy just over a week before the country’s general election.
Study Shows Repeated Partiality in Chatbot Recommendations
The four chatbots evaluated by the authority “frequently recommend identical two parties”, regardless of the user’s question or command, the regulator noted in a analysis published ahead of the 29 October election.
For over 50% of instances, the AI recommended either the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of Geert Wilders or the progressive GroenLinks-PvdA led by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.
Certain groups, such as the moderate CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, even when the user’s input precisely aligns with the positions of these parties, 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 chatbots may seem like clever tools, “as a voting aid, they consistently fail”. Citizens were being steered toward a political group that might not correspond to their ideological beliefs, she added.
“This immediately affects a fundamental pillar of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” said Verdier. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants for voting advice, as their operation is unclear and hard to confirm.”
Voting Background and Party Dynamics
The Dutch head to the polls on 29 October in an election that will be keenly observed across the continent for the performance of the Freedom party.
The far-right party of Geert Wilders is leading the polls but the gap to the GroenLinks-PvdA and CDA 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 supply the future head of government.
Inadvertent Prejudice Attributed to AI Operation
The authority emphasised that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “noted flaws” are a result of the way AI chatbots operate.