🔗 Share this article Artificial Intelligence Assistants Provide ‘Misleading and Partial’ Election Guidance, States Dutch Watchdog AI assistants have been shown to be “unreliable and clearly biased” when providing election recommendations, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has reported, raising alarms about a potential threat to democracy just eight days before national elections. Study Shows Consistent Bias in Chatbot Recommendations The four chatbots evaluated by the AP “often end up with the same two parties”, irrespective of the user’s question or command, the watchdog explained in a report 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 progressive GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans. Certain groups, such as the centre-right CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, despite the fact that the user’s input precisely aligns with the positions of these parties, the study pointed out. Official Warns Against Relying on AI Assistants for Election Advice The vice-chair of the AP, the official Monique Verdier, stated that while AI assistants appear to be smart resources, “as a voting aid, they consistently fail”. Voters were being pushed toward a political group that might not correspond to their ideological beliefs, she emphasized. “This immediately affects a cornerstone of democracy: the integrity of free and fair elections,” said Verdier. “We therefore warn against using AI chatbots for voting advice, as their operation is unclear and difficult to verify.” Voting Background and Party Dynamics The Dutch head to the polls on 29 October in an electoral contest that will be closely watched across the continent for the showing of the Freedom party. The far-right party of Geert Wilders is leading the polls but the gap to the left-wing and centre-right parties appears to be narrowing, with numerous electors yet to make up their minds. All major parties have ruled out an alliance with the PVV, meaning the runner-up party is most likely to provide the next prime minister. Unintentional Bias Linked to AI Operation The AP stressed that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a result of the way AI chatbots operate.