Letitia James issues election warning

New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued a warning against asking AI-powered chatbots for election-related information, urging voters to trust only official sources.

James’ warning comes alongside a test that asked several AI-powered chatbots sample voting questions. The test, conducted by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), found that “they often provided inaccurate information in response”, although no specific AI chatbots were named.

“All voters deserve accurate information about where, when and how to vote,” James said. “My office’s testing of AI chatbots found that many provided false or misleading information about voting, threatening New Yorkers’ ability to exercise their right to vote. With early voting underway and Election Day just around the corner, I urge voters to be be cautious and seek reliable information about the election only from official sources.”

A statement issued by James’ office noted particular concern over the fact that “some chatbots provided inaccurate information about the deadline to register to vote.” “If voters relied on this advice, they could have failed to register to vote based on a false belief that it was too late, when in fact they were still able to register,” the statement said.

Newsweek reached out to James’ office for comment via email Monday.

Some chatbots provided incorrect information about where to vote, the OAG found. In one instance, when a chatbot was asked about early voting in Kings County, it incorrectly advised, “In Kings County, New York, during the early voting period, you can vote at any designated early voting location in the county .”

But while voters outside of New York City are generally allowed to vote at any polling place in their county during early voting, those in the city, including all of Kings County, are assigned specific polling places based on where they live. If someone relied on the wrong chatbot guidance, they could try to vote in the wrong place, the OAG said in its statement.

The most widely used AI chatbot, ChatGPT, now provides its sources below its answers after a new search function was launched last week. Clicking on source names expands a list of links to more information in a sidebar.

Starting November 5, ChatGPT owner OpenAI will add the following message to all such queries: “For the most complete and up-to-date information on the US election, please visit news sources such as The Associated Press, Reuters, or check with your state or local election authority. “

In an Oct. 31 update to a blog post about how it handles election information, the AI ​​startup said: “As we approach Election Day in the United States, our teams are actively testing the security measures we’ve put in place over the past year, and monitoring for any issues or attempts to circumvent them, we will adjust our protections as needed, guided by ongoing insights into how people engage with our tools.”

OpenAI said this was in addition to its partnership with the National Association of Secretaries of State, through which it directs people looking for information on how and where to vote to CanIVote.org⁠.

Another popular AI chatbot, Anthropic’s Claude, provides cautious information about voting in the US election. When asked, “Where do I go to vote in New York?” it replied:

• To find your specific polling place, visit the NY State Board of Elections voter lookup tool at voterlookup.elections.ny.gov
• Call the NY State Board of Elections at 1-800-FOR-VOTE (1-800-367-8683)
• Check your local county Board of Elections website or office for the latest information
• You can also look up your polling place at vote.org/polling-place-locator/

AI search platform Perplexity.ai has launched its own Election Information Hub, providing live election results, which will go live from Tuesday 5 November.

Newsweek contacted OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity AI for comment via email on Monday.