AI chatbots have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when providing election recommendations, the Netherlands’ data watchdog has reported, issuing warnings about a possible risk to democracy just over a week before national elections.
Study Shows Repeated Partiality in Chatbot Recommendations
The quartet of AI assistants evaluated by the AP “often end up with the same two parties”, regardless of the voter’s inquiry or input, the watchdog explained in a analysis published 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 leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans.
Certain groups, such as the moderate CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, despite the fact that the voter’s query exactly matches the positions of these political entities, the study indicated.
Official Warns Against Using AI Chatbots for Election Advice
The vice-chair of the data protection agency, the official Monique Verdier, commented that while AI assistants appear to be smart resources, “for election guidance, they repeatedly fall short”. Citizens were being steered toward a political group that might not correspond to their ideological beliefs, she emphasized.
“This directly impacts a fundamental pillar of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” Verdier stated. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants for voting advice, as their functioning is opaque and hard to confirm.”
Voting Background and Party Dynamics
Netherlands citizens vote on October 29 in an electoral contest that will be keenly observed around Europe for the showing of the PVV.
The right-leaning group of Wilders is ahead in surveys but the gap to the left-wing and centre-right parties appears to be narrowing, with many voters yet to make up their minds.
All major parties have rejected a coalition with the Freedom party, meaning the party that comes second is highly probable to supply the future head of government.
Inadvertent Prejudice Linked to AI Operation
The AP emphasised that the AI systems were not intentionally prejudiced, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a consequence of the way AI chatbots operate.
