Artificial Intelligence Assistants Deliver ‘Unreliable and Biased’ Voting Advice, States Dutch Watchdog

AI assistants are proving to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when offering voting advice, the Netherlands’ data watchdog has reported, raising alarms about a potential threat to democracy just eight days before the country’s general election.

Testing Reveals Repeated Partiality in AI Suggestions

The quartet of AI assistants tested by the authority “frequently recommend identical two parties”, irrespective of the user’s question or command, the watchdog noted in a analysis published ahead of the late October vote.

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 headed by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans.

Some parties, such as the moderate CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, even when the user’s input precisely aligns with the positions of these political entities, the report indicated.

Authority Figure Cautions Against Using AI Chatbots for Voting Guidance

The vice-chair of the AP, Monique Verdier, commented that while AI assistants appear to be smart resources, “as a voting aid, they consistently fail”. Voters were being pushed toward a political group that did not necessarily align with their ideological beliefs, she emphasized.

“This immediately affects a fundamental pillar of democracy: the integrity of free and fair elections,” Verdier stated. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants for voting advice, as their functioning is opaque and difficult to verify.”

Voting Background and Political Landscape

The Dutch head to the polls on October 29 in an electoral contest that will be keenly observed around Europe for the performance of the Freedom party.

The right-leaning group of 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.

Every significant political faction have ruled out an alliance with the Freedom party, implying the party that comes second is highly probable to supply the future head of government.

Unintentional Bias Attributed to AI Operation

The AP stressed that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a result of the manner in which AI assistants function.