Dutch watchdog warns voters against using AI chatbots ahead of election

Election campaign boards are displayed ahead of the Dutch parliamentary election on October 29, in The Hague, Netherlands. (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

The Dutch data regulator on Tuesday warned voters against using AI chatbots ahead of the national election, saying the platforms give unreliable advice and push them towards two major parties on opposite ends of the political spectrum.

While 15 different parties hold seats in the 150-member Dutch parliament at present, chatbots told voters in 56% of cases to choose between the far-right Freedom Party or the Labour-Green Left coalition.

The parties are on track to take 20% and 16% of the vote on October 29, respectively, according to opinion polls.

"Chatbots may seem like clever tools, but as a voting aid, they consistently fail," the Dutch data protection watchdog's vice-chair Monique Verdier said in a statement, describing their operation as "unclear and difficult to verify".

The agency said it had tested four major chatbots, without disclosing which ones, and found that even when fed the campaign platform of a smaller party, the chatbots still advised voting for one of the two major parties in some of the cases.

The election is taking place months after the Freedom Party's exit triggered the collapse of the right-wing coalition, which did not include the Labour or Green parties, and is seen as a contest between either a new all-conservative government or a more centrist or centre-right coalition.

The EU member is led by a minority caretaker government.

The watchdog did not say how many Dutch voters it thinks are using chatbots for voting advice but said there was a "growing number". Over 13 million people are eligible to vote in the election.