Artificial Intelligence Assistants Provide ‘Unreliable and Biased’ Election Guidance, Claims Dutch Watchdog

AI assistants are proving to be “unreliable and clearly biased” when offering voting advice, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has stated, raising alarms about a possible risk to democratic processes just eight days before the country’s general election.

Study Shows Repeated Partiality in AI Suggestions

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

For over 50% of instances, the AI recommended either the right-wing PVV of Geert Wilders or the leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA led by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.

Some parties, such as the moderate CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, despite the fact that the voter’s query precisely aligns with the stances of these political entities, the report pointed out.

Official Warns Against Relying on AI Assistants for Voting Guidance

The vice-chair of the data protection agency, 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 did not necessarily align with their ideological beliefs, she emphasized.

“This immediately affects a cornerstone of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” Verdier stated. “We therefore warn against using AI chatbots for election recommendations, as their functioning is opaque and difficult to verify.”

Voting Background and Political Landscape

The Dutch head to the polls on 29 October in an electoral contest that will be closely watched around Europe for the performance of the PVV.

The right-leaning group of Wilders is leading the polls but the gap to the left-wing and centre-right parties appears to be narrowing, with many voters yet to make up their minds.

All major parties 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 emphasised that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “noted flaws” are a consequence of the manner in which AI assistants function.