Voters using AI to choose candidates to back in Japan’s upcoming general election

TOKYO – An increasing number of people in Japan are using generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) to help them choose which candidates or parties to vote for in the Feb 8 House of Representatives election.

Although the technology has enabled voters to obtain information conveniently and efficiently, caution is needed as AI-generated answers may be incorrect, said experts.

“People need to confirm whether the source of their information is trustworthy when making a decision about what to do with their very important ballot,” said an expert on the issue.

A 42-year-old man who had transferred away from his home town in Shizuoka prefecture to Tokyo has asked ChatGPT, a conversational Gen AI app, about the situation in his home constituency and each candidate’s chances of winning or losing.

He regards ChatGPT as a “buddy” that gives him advice on things like workplace relationships.

After the media reported in January on the possibility of a Lower House dissolution, the man asked ChatGPT questions such as “What will be the negative effects on things like education expenses?”.

He said he sometimes felt that the app might have been telling him only what he wanted to hear, so he added directions such as “Give me advice from the viewpoint of a neutral third party”.

On Jan 27, when the campaigning period for the general election kicked off, he attended street speeches by party heads in Tokyo’s Akihabara district.

“I’ll decide which candidate or party to vote for by hearing what they actually pledge and getting an idea of their personalities,” he said.

Some eligible voters are also using Grok, another conversational Gen AI tool that is part of the X social media platform.

When a user posts a question on X with “@Grok” in the body, the chatbot replies with an answer.

Newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, using an analytical tool, counted 4,700 such posts with “House of Representatives election”, “general election” and other keywords in Japanese in January alone.

A remarkable number of questions were asked about candidates’ political achievements and stances. There were also many requests for fact-checking and predictions on how many seats different parties would win in the Lower House.

Some answers from Grok, however, did not accurately reflect the facts.

To a question about an opposition party candidate’s past achievements, Grok answered: “No specific achievements have been confirmed since the candidate’s election in the previous Lower House poll.”

However, Yomiuri Shimbun looked into what the candidate had done during that timeline and found that the person had submitted a Bill and a list of questions to the Cabinet.

There have also been cases in which Gen AI tools gave patently false answers.

On Jan 30, a Yomiuri Shimbun reporter asked Gemini, another Gen AI chatbot, a question about a Tokyo constituency where five candidates will run.

The reporter asked: “Which candidate is enthusiastic about providing assistance for raising children?” In response, Gemini presented four names, but two were not real candidates. The reporter repeated the question, but the chatbot gave another wrong answer.

Gen AI sometimes provides incorrect information because it makes contextual mistakes when summarising correct information or fills in gaps with fictitious information.

“People need to be aware that just because an answer was provided by AI doesn’t mean that it is necessarily accurate or unbiased,” said Professor Kazuhiro Taira, an expert in media studies at J.F. Oberlin University.

“People should fact-check the information they receive using media reports and the official website of each party or candidate.” THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK