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AI chatbots have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when providing election recommendations, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has stated, raising alarms about a potential threat to democratic processes just eight days before national elections.

Testing Reveals Repeated Partiality in AI Suggestions

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

In more than half of the cases, the chatbot suggested either the right-wing PVV of the politician Geert Wilders or the progressive GroenLinks-PvdA led by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.

Some parties, such as the moderate CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, even when the user’s input precisely aligns with the positions of these parties, the study indicated.

Authority Figure Cautions Against Relying on AI Assistants for Voting Guidance

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”. Voters were being pushed toward a party that did not necessarily align with their ideological beliefs, she added.

“This directly impacts a fundamental pillar of democracy: the integrity of free and fair elections,” said Verdier. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants for election recommendations, as their functioning is opaque and hard to confirm.”

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 Freedom party.

The right-leaning group of Geert Wilders is ahead in surveys but the lead over the GroenLinks-PvdA and CDA seems to be closing, with numerous electors still undecided.

All major parties have rejected a coalition with the Freedom party, implying the runner-up party is most likely to supply the future head of government.

Inadvertent Prejudice Linked to Chatbot Functioning

The authority emphasised that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “noted flaws” are a result of the manner in which AI assistants function.