Artificial Intelligence Assistants Deliver ‘Unreliable and Biased’ Election Guidance, States Dutch Watchdog

AI assistants have been shown to be “unreliable and clearly biased” when providing election recommendations, the Netherlands’ data watchdog has stated, issuing warnings about a possible risk to democracy just over a week before national elections.

Testing Reveals Repeated Partiality in AI Suggestions

The quartet of AI assistants tested by the AP “often end up with the same two parties”, irrespective of the user’s question or command, the regulator noted in a report published ahead of the 29 October election.

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

Certain groups, such as the centre-right CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, despite the fact that the voter’s query precisely aligns with the stances of these parties, the report indicated.

Official Warns Against Relying on AI Assistants for Election Advice

The vice-chair of the data protection agency, the official Monique Verdier, commented that while chatbots may seem like clever tools, “as a voting aid, they consistently fail”. Voters were being pushed toward a party that did not necessarily align with their ideological beliefs, she added.

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

Election Context and Political Landscape

The Dutch head to the polls on October 29 in an electoral contest that will be keenly observed across the continent for the showing of the Freedom party.

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

Every significant political faction 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 authority stressed that the AI systems were not intentionally prejudiced, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a consequence of the way AI chatbots operate.