🔗 Share this article Artificial Intelligence Assistants Provide ‘Unreliable and Biased’ Voting Advice, Claims Dutch Watchdog AI assistants have been shown to be “inaccurate and evidently prejudiced” when providing election recommendations, the Netherlands’ data watchdog has reported, issuing warnings about a possible risk to democratic processes just over a week before the country’s general election. Testing Reveals Consistent Bias in AI Suggestions The quartet of AI assistants evaluated by the authority “frequently recommend identical two parties”, regardless of the user’s question or command, the watchdog noted in a report 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 led by the former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans. Certain groups, such as the moderate CDA, “are rarely ever cited”, despite the fact that the voter’s query precisely aligns with the positions of these parties, the report pointed out. Authority Figure Cautions Against Relying on AI Assistants for Voting Guidance The vice-chair 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 party that did not necessarily align with their ideological beliefs, she added. “This immediately affects a fundamental pillar of democracy: the honesty of open and just votes,” said Verdier. “We thus caution against employing AI assistants for election recommendations, as their functioning is opaque and hard to confirm.” Voting Background and Party Dynamics The Dutch head to the polls on 29 October in an electoral contest that will be closely watched around Europe for the performance of the Freedom party. The right-leaning group of Wilders is leading the polls but the gap to the GroenLinks-PvdA and CDA seems to be closing, with many voters still undecided. Every significant political faction have ruled out an alliance with the PVV, meaning the runner-up party is most likely to supply the future head of government. Inadvertent Prejudice Attributed to AI Operation The AP stressed that the AI systems were not intentionally prejudiced, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a result of the way AI chatbots operate.