🔗 Share this article

AI chatbots have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when offering voting advice, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has stated, issuing warnings about a potential threat to democracy just over a week before national elections.

Testing Reveals Repeated Partiality in AI Suggestions

The quartet of AI assistants evaluated by the authority “often end up with the same two parties”, regardless of the voter’s inquiry or input, the regulator noted in a report released ahead of the late October vote.

In more than half of the cases, the chatbot suggested either the right-wing PVV of Geert Wilders or the leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA led by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.

Some parties, such as the centre-right CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, despite the fact that the voter’s query exactly matches the stances of these political entities, the study indicated.

Authority Figure Cautions Against Using AI Chatbots for Voting Guidance

The vice-chair of the AP, Monique Verdier, commented that while AI assistants appear to be smart resources, “for election guidance, they repeatedly fall short”. Voters were being pushed toward a political group that might not correspond to their political views, she emphasized.

“This directly impacts 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.”

Voting Background and Party Dynamics

Netherlands citizens vote on October 29 in an election that will be closely watched across the continent for the performance of the Freedom party.

The right-leaning group of 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.

All major parties have rejected a coalition with the PVV, implying the party that comes second is highly probable to provide the next prime minister.

Inadvertent Prejudice Attributed to Chatbot Functioning

The authority stressed that the AI systems were not intentionally prejudiced, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a result of the way AI chatbots operate.