Most Dutch political parties should have nothing to do with ChatGPT in the upcoming Lower House elections. CDA, VVD, D66, SGP and PvdD do not plan to use the chatbot or other forms of artificial intelligence in the November elections. BBB and Volt, on the other hand, do have plans to use AI in the next parliamentary elections.
This is according to a BNR tour of political groups in The Hague (1).
Earlier this month, the fourth Rutte Cabinet fell because the coalition parties could not agree on a new asylum policy. Thereupon, Prime Minister Rutte offered the resignation of his cabinet to the king and new elections to the House of Representatives were called. In November, therefore, we may go to the polls.
Since Election Day is already fairly soon, political parties can use all the help they can get. ChatGPT and artificial intelligence can lend a helping hand, for example by writing texts for speeches and election campaigns, or drafting emails for fundraising. Abroad, AI is already widely used to win votes.
Here in the Netherlands, we still prefer to conduct the election campaign the "old-fashioned" way. BNR asked all parties represented in the Lower House whether they have plans to use artificial intelligence in their campaigns. CDA, VVD, D66, SGP and PvdD say they have no plans for this. The BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) and Volt, on the other hand, see a case for it. Other parties, despite repeated requests, did not answer BNR's question.
The BBB is going the furthest in its use of artificial intelligence. Employees of the party have developed a program based on an extension of ChatGPT. This distills the essence from contributions made by group chairwoman Caroline van der Plas on a variety of topics. Based on these text fragments, the software makes suggestions for the party's election program.
BBB campaign manager Henk Vermeer stressed that the chatbot provides summaries and helps organize all the information. The party only uses the software to provide input for the program committee. Party members write the election program themselves.
A spokesman for Volt says the party is going to use artificial intelligence as an experiment. Volt will use AI to power a chatbot that will answer members' questions about the party's positions on Europe.
Although other parties now choose not to use artificial intelligence in the upcoming Lower House elections, they do not rule out doing so after the election. A spokesman for the CDA says it prefers "personal contact with voters.
The PvdD doubts whether ChatGPT respects voters' privacy. The party previously asked the cabinet whether the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens could issue an emergency opinion on the chatbot. The government said it saw no point in doing so because the regulator is part of a task force of the European Data Protection Board (EPDB) that monitors ChatGPT's developer.
In early June, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens sent a letter to ChatGPT developer OpenAI asking how the company collects personal data from the Internet and uses it in its tool. The regulator wants to know if people's questions are used to train the algorithm, and if so, in what way.
The AP also raised questions about the way ChatGPT generates responses. The answers may be inaccurate, as well as outdated, inappropriate, offensive or objectionable. The privacy watchdog wants to know how OpenAI rectifies or deletes that data.
https://www.bnr.nl/nieuws/politiek/10519703/chatgpt-helpt-bbb-met-verkiezingsprogramma-andere-partijen-zien-inzet-ai-nog-niet-zitten
