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AI assistants have been shown to be “unreliable and clearly biased” when offering voting advice, the Dutch data protection authority (AP) has stated, raising alarms about a possible risk to democracy just eight days before national elections.

Study Shows Consistent Bias in Chatbot Recommendations

The four chatbots evaluated by the AP “frequently recommend identical two parties”, regardless of the user’s question or command, the watchdog noted in a analysis released ahead of the 29 October election.

For over 50% of instances, the chatbot suggested either the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of the politician Geert Wilders or the progressive GroenLinks-PvdA led by the ex-EU commissioner Frans Timmermans.

Some parties, such as the centre-right CDA, “are almost never mentioned”, even when the voter’s query exactly matches the stances of these political entities, the report indicated.

Official Warns Against Relying on AI Assistants for Election Advice

The vice-chair of the data protection agency, Monique Verdier, commented that while chatbots may seem like clever tools, “as a voting aid, they consistently fail”. Voters were being pushed toward a party that might not correspond to their political views, she emphasized.

“This directly impacts a cornerstone of democracy: the integrity of free and fair elections,” Verdier stated. “We thus caution against using AI chatbots for election recommendations, as their functioning is opaque and difficult to verify.”

Election Context and Party Dynamics

Netherlands citizens vote on 29 October in an electoral contest that will be closely watched around Europe for the showing of the Freedom party.

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 yet to make up their minds.

All major parties have rejected a coalition with the Freedom party, implying the party that comes second is highly probable to supply the future head of government.

Unintentional Bias Linked to Chatbot Functioning

The AP stressed that the bots were not deliberately biased, and that their “identified shortcomings” are a consequence of the way AI chatbots operate.