AI assistants are proving to be “unreliable and clearly biased” when providing election recommendations, the Netherlands’ data watchdog has stated, raising alarms about a possible risk to democratic processes just over a week before national elections.
Testing Reveals Consistent Bias in Chatbot Recommendations
The four chatbots evaluated by the AP “frequently recommend identical two parties”, regardless of the voter’s inquiry or input, the watchdog explained in a analysis released ahead of the 29 October election.
In more than half of the cases, the AI recommended either the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of the politician Geert Wilders or the leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans.
Some parties, 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 indicated.
Official Warns Against Relying on AI Assistants for Election Advice
The vice-chair of the data protection agency, the official Monique Verdier, stated 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 might not correspond to their political views, she added.
“This directly impacts a cornerstone of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” said Verdier. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants for voting advice, as their functioning is opaque and difficult to verify.”
Election Context and Political Landscape
The Dutch head to the polls on 29 October in an electoral contest that will be closely watched across the continent for the showing of the Freedom party.
The far-right party of Geert Wilders is leading the polls but the lead over the left-wing and centre-right parties seems to be closing, with many voters yet to make up their minds.
Every significant political faction have rejected a coalition with the PVV, implying the runner-up party is most likely to supply the future head of government.
Inadvertent Prejudice Linked to AI Operation
The authority stressed that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a consequence of the manner in which AI assistants function.
