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AI chatbots have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when providing election recommendations, the Netherlands’ data watchdog has reported, issuing warnings about a possible risk to democracy just over a week before the country’s general election.

Testing Reveals Consistent Bias in AI Suggestions

The quartet of AI assistants tested by the AP “frequently recommend identical two parties”, irrespective of the voter’s inquiry or input, the watchdog explained in a analysis published ahead of the late October vote.

In more than half of the cases, the AI recommended either the right-wing PVV of the politician Geert Wilders or the leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans.

Certain groups, such as the moderate CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, despite the fact that the user’s input exactly matches the positions of these parties, the report pointed out.

Authority Figure Cautions Against Using AI Chatbots for Voting Guidance

The vice-chair of the data protection agency, Monique Verdier, stated 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 added.

“This immediately affects a cornerstone of democracy: the integrity of free and fair elections,” said Verdier. “We thus caution against employing AI assistants for election recommendations, as their operation is unclear and difficult to verify.”

Voting Background and Party Dynamics

Netherlands citizens vote on 29 October in an electoral contest that will be keenly observed around Europe for the performance of the PVV.

The far-right party of Geert Wilders is leading the polls but the gap to the GroenLinks-PvdA and CDA appears to be narrowing, with numerous electors still undecided.

Every significant political faction have ruled out an alliance with the Freedom party, implying the runner-up party is most likely to supply the future head of government.

Unintentional Bias Attributed to Chatbot Functioning

The AP stressed that the AI systems were not intentionally prejudiced, and that their “noted flaws” are a result of the way AI chatbots operate.