AI assistants are proving to be “unreliable and clearly biased” when offering voting advice, the Netherlands’ data watchdog has reported, issuing warnings about a possible risk to democratic processes just over a week before the country’s general election.
Study Shows Repeated Partiality in Chatbot Recommendations
The four chatbots tested by the authority “often end up with the same two parties”, irrespective of the user’s question or command, the watchdog noted in a analysis released ahead of the 29 October election.
In more than half of the cases, 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 centre-right CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, despite the fact that the user’s input exactly matches the stances of these parties, the study pointed out.
Official Warns Against Using AI Chatbots for Election Advice
The vice-chair of the AP, Monique Verdier, commented that while AI assistants appear to be smart resources, “as a voting aid, they consistently fail”. Citizens were being steered toward a political group that did not necessarily align with their political views, she emphasized.
“This directly impacts a cornerstone of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” said Verdier. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants for voting advice, as their functioning is opaque and hard to confirm.”
Voting Background and Political Landscape
Netherlands citizens vote on October 29 in an election that will be closely watched around Europe for the showing of the PVV.
The right-leaning group of Wilders is leading the polls but the lead over the left-wing and centre-right parties appears to be narrowing, with numerous electors still undecided.
All major parties have ruled out an alliance with the Freedom party, implying the runner-up party is highly probable to supply the future head of government.
Unintentional Bias Linked to Chatbot Functioning
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.
