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AI chatbots are proving to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when providing election recommendations, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has reported, issuing warnings about a possible risk to democratic processes just eight days before the country’s general election.

Testing Reveals Consistent Bias in Chatbot Recommendations

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

In more than half of the cases, 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.

Some parties, such as the centre-right CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, despite the fact that the voter’s query precisely aligns with the stances of these political entities, the report pointed out.

Authority Figure Cautions Against Relying on AI Assistants for Voting Guidance

The deputy head of the AP, 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 did not necessarily align with their ideological beliefs, she emphasized.

“This directly impacts a fundamental pillar of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” Verdier stated. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants for election recommendations, as their functioning is opaque and difficult to verify.”

Election Context and Political Landscape

Netherlands citizens vote on October 29 in an election that will be keenly observed across the continent for the showing of the Freedom party.

The far-right party of Wilders is leading the polls but the gap to the left-wing and centre-right parties seems to be closing, with numerous electors still undecided.

Every significant political faction have ruled out an alliance with the PVV, meaning the party that comes second is most likely to provide the next prime minister.

Unintentional Bias Linked to Chatbot Functioning

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