🔗 Share this article Artificial Intelligence Assistants Deliver ‘Misleading and Partial’ Election Guidance, Claims Dutch Watchdog AI assistants are proving to be “unreliable and clearly biased” when offering voting advice, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has reported, raising alarms about a potential threat to democratic processes just eight days before national elections. Study Shows Consistent Bias in Chatbot Recommendations The quartet of AI assistants tested by the authority “often end up with the same two parties”, irrespective of the voter’s inquiry or input, the watchdog noted in a analysis released ahead of the late October vote. In more than half of the cases, the AI recommended 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 moderate CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, despite the fact that the voter’s query precisely aligns with the positions of these political entities, the report indicated. Official Warns Against Using AI Chatbots for Voting Guidance The vice-chair of the data protection agency, the official Monique Verdier, commented that while AI assistants appear to be smart resources, “for election guidance, they repeatedly fall short”. Voters were being pushed toward a political group that might not correspond to their ideological beliefs, she emphasized. “This immediately affects a fundamental pillar of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” Verdier stated. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants for voting advice, as their functioning is opaque and hard to confirm.” Voting Background and Political Landscape Netherlands citizens vote on October 29 in an electoral contest that will be closely watched around Europe for the showing of the Freedom party. The far-right party of Wilders is ahead in surveys but the lead over the GroenLinks-PvdA and CDA appears to be narrowing, with numerous electors yet to make up their minds. Every significant political faction have ruled out an alliance with the Freedom party, meaning the party that comes second is highly probable to supply the future head of government. 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 manner in which AI assistants function.