Some Ontario voters turn to AI chatbots to size up municipal candidates

Quebec voters who used AI chatbots, estimated

40 %

During Quebec's election earlier this month, an estimated 40 per cent of voters turned to AI chatbots and received false and outdated information, McGill University researchers say.

In Toronto's Parkdale–High Park ward, where the longtime councillor is retiring and 10 candidates are running, one voter asked a chatbot for the top five polling candidates. He found it easy to digest but thin on lesser-known candidates.

"A lot of it is opinion, a lot of it is untrue, a lot of it is inflammatory," Centivany said of the material chatbots gather.

— Alissa Centivany, Western University

And us?

Ontario's municipal candidates run without party labels, so voters must work out who stands for what. Turnout was almost 33 per cent in 2022, down from roughly 38 per cent in 2018.