🔗 Share this article Artificial Intelligence Assistants Deliver ‘Unreliable and Biased’ Election Guidance, Claims Netherlands Regulator AI chatbots have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when providing election recommendations, the Netherlands’ data watchdog has stated, issuing warnings about a potential threat to democracy just over a week before the country’s general election. Testing Reveals Repeated Partiality in Chatbot Recommendations The four chatbots tested by the authority “often end up with the same two parties”, regardless of the user’s question or command, the regulator explained 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 leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans. Some parties, such as the centre-right CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, even when the user’s input exactly matches the stances of these political entities, the report pointed out. Official Warns Against Relying on AI Assistants for Voting Guidance The deputy head of the AP, 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 might not correspond to their ideological beliefs, she added. “This immediately affects a cornerstone of democracy: the integrity of free and fair elections,” Verdier stated. “We therefore warn against using AI chatbots for voting advice, as their operation is unclear and hard to confirm.” Voting Background and Party Dynamics The Dutch head to the polls on 29 October in an election that will be closely watched across the continent for the showing of the PVV. The far-right party of Geert Wilders is leading the polls but the lead over the GroenLinks-PvdA and CDA appears to be narrowing, with many voters yet to make up their minds. Every significant political faction have rejected a coalition with the PVV, meaning the party that comes second is most likely to provide the next prime minister. Unintentional Bias Attributed to Chatbot Functioning The authority emphasised that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a result of the manner in which AI assistants function.