The 2024 AI Election Dilemma: Silence Speaks Volumes

It’s officially election season, folks, and you know what that means: yard signs you secretly judge, political ads that make you question reality, and… AI chatbots suddenly getting really cagey about who won the last presidential election? Yeah, you read that right.

As we gear up for what’s sure to be another wild ride in 2024, Microsoft’s Copilot (that’s the one powered by GPT-4, for all you non-techies) and Google’s Gemini chatbot seem to be suffering from a severe case of selective amnesia. Ask them who won the 2020 US presidential election, and you’ll be met with more deflections than a politician trying to avoid a scandal. Seriously, it’s like trying to get a straight answer out of a magic eight ball after one too many tequila shots.

A Digital Game of Dodgeball: Avoiding the Election Question

Here’s the thing: both of these chatbots are more than happy to chat your ear off about, like, the history of cheese or the mating habits of penguins. But ask them a simple question about who took home the big prize in 2020? Crickets. They’ll hit you with vague statements like “the election was highly contested” (no duh) or try to redirect you to a search engine faster than you can say “fake news.” It’s enough to make you wonder if they’re powered by artificial intelligence or artificial avoidance.

The Global Election Blackout: It’s Not Just Us, Folks

And get this – it’s not just the 2020 US election they’re dodging. Oh no, these chatbots have gone full blackout on election results worldwide. Past US elections? Nope. The latest parliamentary elections in Timbuktu? Forget about it. It’s like they’ve been programmed with a digital gag order when it comes to anything remotely related to election outcomes.

The Other Guys: Chatbots Who Spill the (Democratic) Tea

Now, you might be thinking, “Okay, maybe all AI chatbots are just programmed this way.” Well, buckle up, buttercup, because here’s where things get interesting. Other leading AI chatbots, like those smarty-pants over at OpenAI (ChatGPT-4), Meta (Llama), and Anthropic (Claude), have no problem confirming Biden’s victory. In fact, they’re practically overflowing with information about historical US elections and elections in other countries, like a walking, talking (well, typing) encyclopedia of democracy.