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AI assistants have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when providing election recommendations, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has reported, issuing warnings about a potential threat to democracy just eight days before the country’s general election.

Testing Reveals Repeated Partiality in AI Suggestions

The four chatbots 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 analysis released ahead of the 29 October election.

For over 50% of instances, the chatbot suggested either the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of Geert Wilders or the progressive GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.

Certain groups, such as the moderate CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, despite the fact that the voter’s query precisely aligns with the positions of these political entities, the study indicated.

Authority Figure Cautions Against Using AI Chatbots for Election Advice

The vice-chair of the AP, the official Monique Verdier, commented that while AI assistants appear to be smart resources, “as a voting aid, they consistently fail”. Citizens were being steered toward a party that might not correspond to their ideological beliefs, she emphasized.

“This directly impacts a fundamental pillar of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” said Verdier. “We thus caution against employing AI assistants for election recommendations, as their functioning is opaque and difficult to verify.”

Voting Background and Political Landscape

Netherlands citizens vote on October 29 in an election that will be closely watched around Europe for the showing of the Freedom party.

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

All major parties have ruled out an alliance with the Freedom party, meaning the runner-up party is highly probable to provide the next prime minister.

Inadvertent Prejudice Attributed to Chatbot Functioning

The AP emphasised that the AI systems were not intentionally prejudiced, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a consequence of the way AI chatbots operate.