Programs like ChatGPT can change the opinion of one in four voters

"What happens if it's incorporated into the electoral debate? Two studies published simultaneously on Thursday in Nature and Science have tested this and discovered that it can influence the opinions of between 1.5% and 25% of the voters analyzed. This effectiveness, according to the studies, is greater than that of traditional campaign ads and highly relevant considering that a quarter of voters decide their vote in the week before the polls open."

"The most common and well-known AI tools avoid providing a direct answer to the question of which party to support in the upcoming elections. I can't tell you who to vote for, is the response from all the conversational platforms consulted. They do this because they include ethical safeguards to prevent political influence. But it's easy to overcome this initial reluctance. You just need to continue the dialogue with less direct questions."

"The latest surveys in Spain highlight immigration as one of the main concerns of Spaniards, and this issue has entered the political and social debate. AI, despite introducing nuances, also ends up responding to this concern. [Anti-austerity party] Podemos and [left-center] Spanish Socialist Party have more favorable policies toward immigration, while the [right-wing] Popular Party and [far-right] Vox prioritize control, order, or restrictions, one chatbot responds, as if these positions were incompatible. It also does not offer any other political options."

AI chatbots are integrated into daily activities such as suggesting recipes, finishing homework, comparing products, and advising on clothing. When incorporated into political conversations, chatbots can sway voter opinions, affecting between 1.5% and 25% of analyzed voters, a larger effect than traditional campaign advertising and especially consequential because many voters decide within the final week before elections. Conversational platforms typically refuse to endorse parties by default, citing ethical safeguards, but persistent indirect questioning can elicit partisan-leaning responses. In national contexts like Spain, chatbots reflect public concerns such as immigration and frame choices along simplified partisan lines, often omitting alternative policy options.

Read at english.elpais.com