Transparency Fiji and Integrity Fiji are calling on the Electoral Commission to urgently clarify how AI-generated election forecasts will be regulated ahead of Fiji’s next General Election, warning that such predictions could potentially influence voter choices and the wider electoral environment.
The call follows concerns raised by the Fijian Elections Office that AI-generated predictions could influence undecided voters, affect voter turnout and create a misleading impression of certainty about election outcomes.
“Our elections belong to the people. Technology can inform a voter, but it must never take away the voter’s freedom to choose,” said the two organisations.
The organisations said the principle of protecting a voter’s independent choice was already reflected in Fiji’s Electoral Act 2014.
It pointed to provisions governing assistance for voters with disabilities, saying while another person may assist a voter, that person is not permitted to influence how the voter votes.
They said a similar principle should now be considered when dealing with artificial intelligence and other forms of political technology.
“If information or predictions are deliberately designed, presented or amplified in a manner that improperly influences voters, this raises serious questions about the integrity of the electoral process.”
They are calling on the Electoral Commission to clarify how AI-generated election forecasts and predictive models will be treated under Sections 110 and 110A of the Electoral Act 2014.
TIF said that clarification should come well before the final stages of the election period.
“The Electoral Commission should clarify the rules now, before AI-generated forecasts become capable of influencing the electoral environment, rather than waiting until the final seven days when it may be too late,” it said.
According to TIF, Section 110A provides for guidelines relating to election-related opinion polls, surveys and research, while Section 110 restricts publication of election-related opinion poll results during the final seven days of the election period.
TIF said advances in artificial intelligence meant systems could now generate sophisticated election forecasts using information including historical election results, political trends, social-media sentiment, perceptions of leadership credibility, party resources and voter behaviour.
This made it increasingly important for the public to understand exactly what type of information was being presented to them.
TIF said voters should be able to distinguish between “a verified fact, an opinion poll, statistical modelling or a prediction.”
The organisation stressed that it was not seeking to prohibit the use of artificial intelligence in election-related discussion.
“TIF is not calling for a ban on AI. We are calling for transparency, accountability and clear rules,” it said.
It said early clarification from the Electoral Commission would provide greater certainty over the use and publication of AI-generated forecasts while helping safeguard voters’ ability to make their electoral choices independently.
