🔗 Share this article AI Chatbots Deliver ‘Misleading and Partial’ Voting Advice, Claims Netherlands Regulator AI chatbots have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when offering voting advice, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has stated, raising alarms about a potential threat to democracy just over a week before national elections. Study Shows Repeated Partiality in AI Suggestions The four chatbots evaluated by the authority “often end up with the same two parties”, regardless of the voter’s inquiry or input, the regulator noted in a analysis published ahead of the 29 October election. In more than half of the cases, the chatbot suggested either the right-wing PVV of Geert Wilders or the leftwing GroenLinks-PvdA headed by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans. Some parties, such as the centre-right CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, despite the fact that the user’s input precisely aligns with the positions of these political entities, the study indicated. Official Warns Against Using AI Chatbots for Election Advice The deputy head of the data protection agency, the official Monique Verdier, commented 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 directly impacts a cornerstone of democracy: the integrity of free and fair elections,” Verdier stated. “We therefore warn against employing AI assistants for election recommendations, as their functioning is opaque and hard to confirm.” Election Context and Party Dynamics Netherlands citizens vote on October 29 in an election that will be closely watched around Europe for the performance of the PVV. The right-leaning group of Wilders is ahead in surveys but the gap to 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, meaning the runner-up party is highly probable to provide the next prime minister. Inadvertent Prejudice Attributed to Chatbot Functioning The AP stressed that the AI systems were not intentionally prejudiced, and that their “noted flaws” are a result of the way AI chatbots operate.