AI assistants have been shown 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 the country’s general election.
Study Shows Repeated Partiality in Chatbot Recommendations
The four chatbots evaluated by the authority “often end up with the same two parties”, irrespective of the voter’s inquiry or input, the watchdog explained in a analysis published ahead of the late October vote.
For over 50% of instances, the chatbot suggested either the right-wing PVV of the politician Geert Wilders or the leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.
Some parties, such as the centre-right CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, even when the user’s input precisely aligns with the positions of these political entities, the report pointed out.
Authority Figure Cautions Against Using AI Chatbots for Election Advice
The deputy head of the AP, the official Monique Verdier, commented that while AI assistants appear to be smart resources, “as a voting aid, they consistently fail”. Voters were being pushed toward a party that might not correspond to their ideological beliefs, she added.
“This immediately affects a fundamental pillar of democracy: the integrity of free and fair elections,” Verdier stated. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants for election recommendations, as their operation is unclear and hard to confirm.”
Election Context and Party Dynamics
The Dutch head to the polls on 29 October in an election that will be keenly observed around Europe for the showing of the PVV.
The right-leaning group of Geert Wilders is leading the polls but the gap to the GroenLinks-PvdA and CDA seems to be closing, with numerous electors still undecided.
All major parties have rejected a coalition with the Freedom party, implying the runner-up party is highly probable to provide the next prime minister.
Inadvertent Prejudice Attributed to AI Operation
The authority stressed that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “noted flaws” are a consequence of the manner in which AI assistants function.
