AI chatbots have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when providing election recommendations, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has reported, raising alarms about a possible risk to democratic processes just eight days before national elections.
Testing Reveals Consistent Bias in AI Suggestions
The quartet of AI assistants evaluated by the AP “often end up with the same two parties”, irrespective of the user’s question or command, the watchdog noted in a analysis published ahead of the late October vote.
In more than half of the cases, the AI recommended either the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of the politician Geert Wilders or the leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans.
Some parties, such as the moderate CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, despite the fact that the voter’s query exactly matches the stances of these political entities, the report indicated.
Official Warns Against Using AI Chatbots for Election Advice
The deputy head 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 might not correspond to their political views, she emphasized.
“This directly impacts a cornerstone of democracy: the integrity of free and fair elections,” said Verdier. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants for election recommendations, as their functioning is opaque and difficult to verify.”
Election Context and Political Landscape
Netherlands citizens vote on October 29 in an electoral contest that will be closely watched across the continent for the performance of the PVV.
The right-leaning group of Geert Wilders is leading the polls but the lead over the GroenLinks-PvdA and CDA appears to be narrowing, with numerous electors yet to make up their minds.
Every significant political faction have ruled out an alliance with the Freedom party, meaning the party that comes second is highly probable to provide the next prime minister.
Unintentional Bias Attributed to Chatbot Functioning
The authority emphasised that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a result of the manner in which AI assistants function.
