🔗 Share this article Artificial Intelligence Assistants Provide ‘Unreliable and Biased’ Voting Advice, States Dutch Watchdog AI chatbots have been shown to be “unreliable and clearly biased” when providing election recommendations, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has stated, raising alarms about a possible risk to democratic processes just eight days before national elections. Study Shows Repeated Partiality in AI Suggestions The quartet of AI assistants evaluated by the AP “frequently recommend identical two parties”, irrespective of the user’s question or command, the watchdog noted in a analysis published ahead of the 29 October election. In more than half of the cases, the chatbot suggested either the right-wing PVV of Geert Wilders or the progressive GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans. Certain groups, such as the centre-right CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, even when the user’s input precisely aligns with the stances of these parties, the study indicated. Authority Figure Cautions Against Using AI Chatbots for Election Advice The vice-chair of the data protection agency, the official Monique Verdier, stated that while chatbots may seem like clever tools, “for election guidance, they repeatedly fall short”. Citizens were being steered toward a political group that did not necessarily align with their ideological beliefs, she added. “This directly impacts a fundamental pillar of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” said Verdier. “We thus caution against using AI chatbots for election recommendations, as their operation is unclear and hard to confirm.” Election Context and Party Dynamics The Dutch head to the polls on October 29 in an electoral contest that will be closely watched around Europe for the performance of the Freedom party. The right-leaning group of Geert Wilders is ahead in surveys but the gap to the left-wing and centre-right parties appears to be narrowing, with many voters still undecided. Every significant political faction have rejected a coalition with the PVV, implying the party that comes second is highly probable to provide the next prime minister. Inadvertent Prejudice Attributed to Chatbot Functioning The AP stressed that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a result of the manner in which AI assistants function.