AI chatbots are proving to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when providing election recommendations, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has stated, issuing warnings about a potential threat to democratic processes just over a week before national elections.
Study Shows Repeated Partiality in AI Suggestions
The four chatbots evaluated by the authority “often end up with the same two parties”, irrespective of the voter’s inquiry or input, the regulator noted in a analysis released ahead of the 29 October election.
For over 50% of instances, the AI recommended either the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of the politician Geert Wilders or the leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA led by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.
Certain groups, such as the centre-right CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, despite the fact that the user’s input exactly matches the stances of these political entities, the study indicated.
Official Warns Against Relying on AI Assistants for Voting Guidance
The vice-chair of the data protection agency, Monique Verdier, commented that while chatbots may seem like clever tools, “for election guidance, they repeatedly fall short”. Voters were being pushed toward a party that did not necessarily align with their ideological beliefs, she emphasized.
“This directly impacts a cornerstone of democracy: the integrity of free and fair elections,” Verdier stated. “We therefore warn against using AI chatbots for election recommendations, as their functioning is opaque and difficult to verify.”
Voting Background and Party Dynamics
The Dutch head to the polls on October 29 in an electoral contest that will be closely watched across the continent for the performance of the PVV.
The far-right party of Geert Wilders is ahead in surveys but the lead over the left-wing and centre-right parties appears to be narrowing, with many voters still undecided.
All major parties have rejected a coalition with the Freedom party, meaning the runner-up party is highly probable to supply the future head of government.
Inadvertent Prejudice Linked to AI Operation
The authority emphasised that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “noted flaws” are a result of the manner in which AI assistants function.
