Indian Gen Z delegates voting decision to AI in Landmark Experiment

Bangalore, India (29 May 2024) – In an unprecedented move, a group of Indian youth has made history by entrusting their vote decision-making to artificial intelligence (AI) as part of a ground-breaking experiment led by the emerging tech think tank Policy 4.0. This bold initiative marks India’s first venture into the concept of augmented democracy, a realm that has seen significant exploration in Europe through Voting Advice Applications (VAAs).

While most conversations about AI and elections focus on deepfakes and misinformation, this study flips the script. “The current landscape on AI and politics is disempowering for voters, where political players leverage AI heavily but voters do not. Our research flips the conventional narrative on AI in elections by showcasing how it could empower the Indian voter.” says Tanvi Ratna, Policy 4.0. CEO and lead architect of the study.

Titled “An AI Experiment for Augmented Democracy in India,” the study worked with real Indian GenZ voters and tested the ability of existing large language models (LLMs) to make complex, tailored voting decisions on Indian politics. The study ran three separate AI experiments and created two separate AI twins of each voter studied. While a short study, it concluded that LLM models in the current form could model their voter sample reasonably well and could also potentially minimize polarization.

These findings are particularly relevant for India’s young voters, a demographic that is increasingly influential in the country’s electoral outcomes. With over 15 million first-time voters and approximately 200 million voters aged 20-29 years participating in the 2024 elections, the potential impact of AI on this group could be immense. The study focused heavily on profiling voters under the age of 29 and suggests that by incorporating voting assistants, similar to those successfully implemented in Europe, India could empower its youth with the tools needed for informed and rational voting.

“As the first experiment involving live Indian voters, this study significantly advances our understanding of how AI could enhance democratic processes in India. While a short study, it opens the door to a wide spectrum of research in the field.” said Prabhu Pradhan, AI Scholar at Policy 4.0. and lead researcher in the study.

Participants in the study also had interesting takeaways from the process. Some were first time voters and many identified as undecided on their political preference.

However, discussions around the study made them question subconscious biases they may have held. “I had never considered voting to be such a multifaceted decision, as we arrive at conclusions on our decision almost subconsciously. To lay out my rationale for the AI, helped me understand many of my own underlying assumptions.” said Devank Kumar Singh, 20 year-old first time voter from Bangalore and participant in the study.

Other participants embraced the use of AI with enthusiasm and saw it as a way to help them make better data-driven decisions than they might with their own heuristics. “AI is revolutionizing the way we learn things. This becomes of greater significance around elections where people need accurate information to make a choice. The experiment made me believe that AI could have special significance for us GenZ voters in India” said Taaha Nizam, 23 year old voter from Mumbai and participant in the study