AI chatbots have been shown to be “unreliable and clearly biased” when providing election recommendations, the Netherlands’ data watchdog has stated, raising alarms about a potential threat to democracy just over a week before the country’s general election.
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 user’s question or command, the regulator explained in a report published ahead of the 29 October election.
In more than half of the cases, the chatbot suggested either the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of Geert Wilders or the leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.
Some parties, such as the moderate CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, even when the user’s input exactly matches the stances of these parties, the report pointed out.
Official Warns Against Using AI Chatbots for Voting Guidance
The vice-chair of the AP, the official Monique Verdier, stated that while chatbots may seem like clever tools, “for election guidance, they repeatedly fall short”. Voters were being pushed toward a political group that did not necessarily align with their political views, she emphasized.
“This directly impacts a fundamental pillar of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” Verdier stated. “We thus caution against using AI chatbots for voting advice, as their functioning is opaque 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 Geert Wilders is leading the polls but the lead over the left-wing and centre-right parties appears to be narrowing, with many voters still undecided.
All major parties have ruled out an alliance with the PVV, implying the party that comes second is highly probable to supply the future head of government.
Inadvertent Prejudice Attributed to Chatbot Functioning
The AP stressed that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “noted flaws” are a consequence of the way AI chatbots operate.
