Artificial Intelligence Assistants Provide ‘Misleading and Partial’ Election Guidance, States Dutch Watchdog

AI assistants have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when offering voting advice, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has reported, raising alarms about a possible risk to democracy just eight days before the country’s general election.

Testing Reveals Consistent Bias in Chatbot Recommendations

The four chatbots tested by the AP “frequently recommend identical two parties”, regardless of the user’s question or command, the regulator explained in a report published ahead of the 29 October election.

For over 50% of instances, 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.

Certain groups, such as the moderate CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, despite the fact that the voter’s query precisely aligns with the positions of these political entities, the report pointed out.

Authority Figure Cautions Against Relying on AI Assistants for Voting Guidance

The deputy head 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”. Voters were being pushed toward a party that did not necessarily align with their ideological beliefs, she emphasized.

“This immediately affects a cornerstone of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” said Verdier. “We thus caution against using AI chatbots for election recommendations, as their operation is unclear and difficult to verify.”

Voting Background and Party Dynamics

The Dutch head to the polls on October 29 in an electoral contest that will be closely watched around Europe for the showing of the Freedom party.

The right-leaning group of Wilders is ahead in surveys 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 ruled out an alliance with the Freedom party, meaning the runner-up party is most likely 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 consequence of the way AI chatbots operate.