AI assistants are proving to be “unreliable and clearly biased” when offering voting advice, the Netherlands’ data watchdog has reported, raising alarms about a potential threat to democracy just over a week before national elections.
The four chatbots tested by the authority “frequently recommend identical two parties”, irrespective of the voter’s inquiry or input, the watchdog noted in a report released ahead of the 29 October election.
In more than half of the cases, the AI recommended either the right-wing PVV of the politician Geert Wilders or the progressive GroenLinks-PvdA led by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans.
Some parties, such as the centre-right CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, even when the user’s input exactly matches the positions of these parties, the report indicated.
The deputy head of the AP, Monique Verdier, stated that while AI assistants appear to be smart resources, “as a voting aid, they consistently fail”. Voters were being pushed toward a party that did not necessarily align with their political views, she added.
“This directly impacts a cornerstone of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” said Verdier. “We thus caution against employing AI assistants for voting advice, as their functioning is opaque and hard to confirm.”
The Dutch head to the polls on 29 October in an election that will be closely watched around Europe for the performance of the PVV.
The far-right party of Geert Wilders is ahead in surveys but the gap to the left-wing and centre-right parties seems to be closing, with many voters still undecided.
Every significant political faction have ruled out an alliance with the PVV, meaning the party that comes second is highly probable to supply the future head of government.
The AP emphasised that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a result of the manner in which AI assistants function.
A tech enthusiast and digital strategist with over a decade of experience in web development and online marketing.
Brenda Garcia
Brenda Garcia
Brenda Garcia