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Voters turn to ChatGPT for ballot research as a researcher warns of bias

NPR’s October 5 interviews document voters using ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude to compare midterm candidates, investigate local races and check viral claims. Some cited shrinking local-news coverage as a reason to look elsewhere for down-ballot information. Pew figures cited in the report say about half of American adults use chatbots, and about 42% of users search for information with them. Those figures measure general use—not how many voters rely on AI for election research.

Adam Johnson, a voter in Morgantown, West Virginia, asked ChatGPT to investigate candidates against his political principles. The chatbot said it could research those criteria but should not tell him how to vote. When he asked about immigration, it supplied positions for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito but said Rachel Fetty Anderson had less detailed public material. It declined to assign her generic Democratic positions without evidence. Another interviewee, Lisa Veldran, used Gemini to make a candidate-comparison table.

The concern is not only fabricated information. Researcher Rafael Batista warned that a chatbot may select facts that strengthen a user’s existing preference, leaving them more confident without necessarily learning more. He said limited disclosure about commercial models’ training and source selection makes neutrality hard to assess. OpenAI directed NPR to its election safeguards, saying it monitors political bias and designs ChatGPT not to manipulate users. Those are stated safeguards, not proof that every ballot conversation remains neutral.

Interviewees described attempts to put checks around the tools. Lakshmi Iyer used Claude to build Ballot Lookup, a volunteer-built Pennsylvania candidate-information site, asking it to select statements from speeches or official websites rather than write its own characterizations. Tyler Black checks one chatbot’s answers against another; Batista said he has not seen evidence that this method is effective. For voters seeking less personalized answers, Batista suggested withholding political preferences from questions and using incognito mode so the chatbot has less prior information about them.

launch

OpenAI starts adding text watermarks in the EU but limits detector access

OpenAI is rolling out invisible text watermarks for eligible ChatGPT and Codex outputs in the EU, with worldwide API opt-in for select models. Detector access is limited to approved researchers and expert organizations. In company tests, replacing 10% of words with synonyms cut detection from about 92% to 66%. A positive result does not establish authorship or accuracy, and a negative one does not prove a human wrote the text.

lawsuit

McDonald’s faces a lawsuit alleging AI-assisted menu price fixing

A proposed nationwide class action alleges McDonald’s used AI and nonpublic business data to coordinate prices across franchise and company-owned restaurants. Reuters reported that its pricing system analyzes millions of daily transactions across nearly 14,000 US locations. McDonald’s rejects the allegations and says franchisees can decline its recommendations. The unproven claims challenge whether shared advice can undermine independent pricing, even when software does not set prices.

launch

Instinct opens early-access AI group chats to friends without accounts

Instinct has opened group chats to early-access users, with friends able to participate without their own accounts. A shared agent works for the group but cannot access participants’ private accounts, according to founder Noah Shinn. Personal agents must ask permission before sharing information or taking action, and pending replies pause when someone new joins. Broader access is promised “soon,” with no date announced.

Also worth knowing

•  Google pauses new product bug reports in its open-source reward program

•  OpenAI prepares a US test of visual ads beside ChatGPT image generation

•  Google opens free AI teacher training across the UK and Ireland

•  HackerRank opens AI-led coding interviews that let candidates use AI

•  arXiv limits each uploader to two submissions a month to protect moderators

•  Norfolk Police adds AI for routine calls while keeping 911 calls with people

•  OpenAI seeks dismissal of Florida State shooting lawsuit on free-speech grounds

•  Meta lets go of Virtue AI recruits four months after hiring them

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