AI Chatbots Deliver ‘Unreliable and Biased’ Election Guidance, States Dutch Watchdog

AI assistants have been shown to be “unreliable and clearly biased” when providing election recommendations, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has stated, raising alarms about a possible risk to democracy just over a week before national elections.

Testing Reveals Repeated Partiality in AI Suggestions

The four chatbots tested by the authority “frequently recommend identical two parties”, irrespective of the voter’s inquiry or input, the regulator explained in a analysis released ahead of the late October vote.

In more than half of the cases, the chatbot suggested either the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of Geert Wilders or the progressive GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.

Some parties, such as the centre-right CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, even when the voter’s query exactly matches the stances of these parties, the report indicated.

Official Warns Against Relying on AI Assistants for Voting Guidance

The vice-chair of the AP, Monique Verdier, commented that while chatbots may seem like clever tools, “for election guidance, they repeatedly fall short”. Voters were being pushed toward a political group that might not correspond to their political views, she added.

“This immediately affects 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 difficult to verify.”

Voting Background and Party Dynamics

The Dutch head to the polls 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 leading the polls but the gap to the GroenLinks-PvdA and CDA appears to be narrowing, with many voters still undecided.

Every significant political faction have rejected a coalition with the Freedom party, meaning the party that comes second is highly probable to supply the future head of government.

Unintentional Bias 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.