AI assistants have been shown to be “unreliable and clearly biased” when offering voting advice, the Netherlands’ data watchdog has reported, raising alarms about a possible risk to democratic processes just eight days before the country’s general election.
Testing Reveals Consistent Bias in Chatbot Recommendations
The four chatbots evaluated by the AP “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 29 October election.
For over 50% of instances, the chatbot suggested either the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of the politician Geert Wilders or the progressive GroenLinks-PvdA led by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.
Certain groups, such as the centre-right CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, despite the fact that the user’s input exactly matches the stances of these parties, the study indicated.
Authority Figure Cautions Against Using AI Chatbots for Election Advice
The vice-chair of the AP, 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 political group that might not correspond to their ideological beliefs, she emphasized.
“This directly impacts a cornerstone of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” said Verdier. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants for election recommendations, as their operation is unclear and difficult to verify.”
Election Context and Political Landscape
Netherlands citizens vote on October 29 in an election that will be closely watched across the continent for the performance 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 ruled out an alliance with the Freedom party, meaning the party that comes second is highly probable to supply the future head of government.
Inadvertent Prejudice Attributed to AI Operation
The AP stressed that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “noted flaws” are a consequence of the way AI chatbots operate.
