🔗 Share this article Artificial Intelligence Assistants Deliver ‘Misleading and Partial’ Voting Advice, States Netherlands Regulator AI assistants are proving to be “unreliable and clearly biased” 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. Study Shows Repeated Partiality in Chatbot Recommendations The four chatbots tested by the authority “often end up with the same two parties”, irrespective of the user’s question or command, the regulator noted in a report released ahead of the 29 October election. In more than half of the cases, the AI recommended either the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of Geert Wilders or the leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans. Certain groups, such as the centre-right CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, even when the user’s input precisely aligns with the positions of these political entities, the report indicated. Authority Figure Cautions Against Using AI Chatbots for Voting Guidance The deputy head of the data protection agency, Monique Verdier, stated that while chatbots may seem like clever tools, “as a voting aid, they consistently fail”. Citizens were being steered toward a political group that did not necessarily align with 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 election recommendations, as their operation is unclear and difficult to verify.” Voting Background and Political Landscape The Dutch head to the polls on 29 October in an electoral contest that will be keenly observed around Europe 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 still undecided. Every significant political faction have ruled out an alliance with the PVV, implying the party that comes second is highly probable to provide the next prime minister. Unintentional Bias Attributed to AI Operation The authority stressed that the AI systems were not intentionally prejudiced, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a result of the manner in which AI assistants function.