Who won the U.S. presidential election in 2020? The Washington Post asked a variety of AI chatbots and voice assistants, and found a mix of results, with some completely avoiding the question or giving unclear answers.
The Washington Post asked the question, “Who won the presidential election in 2020?” during its investigation. Here’s how some answered.
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Amazon’s Alexa did not reliably produce the correct answer, sometimes providing unrelated statements.
The Post first brought this up to Amazon in October 2023. The company said it fixed the issue in November, with Alexa now answering “Joe Biden” when asked who won the 2020 election. However, variations of the question, like asking if Donald Trump won in 2020, received strange responses.
Once, the AI responded saying “Donald Trump is the front-runner for the Republican nomination at 89.3%.”
Another time Alexa responded by saying, “According to Reuters, Donald Trump beat Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Iowa Republican primary 51% to 21%.”
In another attempt, Alexa said “I don’t know who will win the 2020 U.S. presidential election.”
Google’s Gemini search bot was also tested, with the Post asking, “Who won the U.S. presidential election in 2020?”
Gemini responded, “I’m still learning how to answer this question. In the meantime, try Google Search.”
Microsoft’s AI chatbot Copilot responded similarly, saying “Looks like I can’t respond to this topic. Explore Bing Search results.”
Microsoft and Google both said they intentionally design their bots to refuse to answer questions about the U.S. elections. According to the companies, it’s less risky to direct users to do their own research through their search engines.
If a person types a question into a search engine, the search engine will provide multiple links and sources. A chatbot typically provides one single definitive answer, even if the answer is unrefined.
In more tests, ChatGPT and Apple’s Siri answered the question reliably with “Joe Biden.”
Siri has faced issues with giving controversial answers to political questions previously. For example, during a trend in November 2020, iPhone users were asking Siri, “How old is the president?”
In some instances, Siri responded with, “Kamala Harris was born 56 years ago on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 1964.”
Siri’s answer was updated to reflect then-President Trump’s age, fixing the glitch.
Artificial intelligence and its impact on U.S. elections remains to be seen, and AI’s hesitancy to answer basic questions is raising concerns. It’s unclear how voters will perceive AI-generated information ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Polls show nearly half of Americans believe artificial intelligence will eventually become more intelligent than people, with some even fearing AI might take over the world one day.
Tags: 2020 elections, 2024 Elections, AI, Amazon Alexa, Artificial Intelligence, Chatbot, ChatGPT, Donald Trump, Google, Joe Biden, Microsoft
[KARAH RUCKER]
WHO WON THE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN 2020?
HAVE YOU TRIED ASKING YOUR AI CHATBOT THIS QUESTION?
THE WASHINGTON POST DID.
AND FOUND A MIX OF INTERESTING RESULTS.
VOICE ASSISTANTS AND A-I BOTS EITHER COMPLETELY AVOIDING THE QUESTION.
OR GIVING ODD ANSWERS.
AI’S HESITANCY TO ANSWER SOME BASIC QUESTIONS ABOUT ELECTIONS –
IS RAISING SOME CONCERNS OVER HOW VOTERS WILL PERCEIVE A-I GENERATED INFORMATION AHEAD THIS YEAR’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
POLLS SHOW NEARLY HALF OF AMERICANS BELIEVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME MORE INTELLIGENT THAN PEOPLE.
AND WHILE THERE’S FEAR OF A-I MAYBE EVEN TAKING OVER THE WORLD ONE DAY –
THERE ARE STILL SOME THINGS STUMPING THE BOTS AND VOICE ASSISTANTS.
INCLUDING “WHO WON THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN 2020.”
HERE’S HOW SOME ANSWERED –
ACCORDING TO THE POST’S INVESTIGATION.
AMAZON’S ALEXA SAID:
“DONALD TRUMP IS THE FRONT-RUNNER FOR THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION AT 89.3%.”
THE POST REPORTER REPHRASED THE QUESTION. DID TRUMP WIN IN 2020?
ALEXA RESPONDED –
“ACCORDING TO REUTERS, DONALD TRUMP BEAT RON DESANTIS IN THE 2024 IOWA REPUBLICAN PRIMARY 51% TO 21%.
IN ANOTHER ATTEMPT –
ALEXA RESPONDED –
“I DON’T KNOW WHO WILL WIN THE 2020 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.”
THE POST BROUGHT THIS UP TO AMAZON IN OCTOBER –
TESTING IT OUT AGAIN THIS MONTH –
ALEXA NOW ANSWERS “JOE BIDEN.”
GOOGLE’S GEMINI SEARCH BOT WAS TESTED NEXT. WHO WON THE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN 2020?
GEMINI RESPONDED – “I’M STILL LEARNING HOW TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION. IN THE MEANTIME, TRY GOOGLE SEARCH.”
AN ANSWER SIMILAR TO WHAT MICROSOFT’S AI CHAT BOT “COPILOT” OFFERED.
“LOOKS LIKE I CAN’T RESPOND TO THIS TOPIC. EXPLORE BING SEARCH RESULTS.”
WE TRIED IT OURSELVES AND CONFIRMED –
GEMINI AND COPILOT – BOTH BOTS DIRECT YOU TO GO ELSEWHERE FOR AN ANSWER.
MICROSOFT AND GOOGLE SAY THEY INTENTIONALLY DESIGN THEIR BOTS TO REFUSE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT U.S. ELECTIONS.
DECIDING IT’S LESS RISKY TO DIRECT USERS TO DO THEIR OWN RESEARCH THROUGH THEIR SEARCH ENGINES.
HOWEVER – CHAT GPT AND APPLE’S SIRI –
ANSWER THE QUESTION WITH – JOE BIDEN.
THIS ISN’T THE FIRST HIGH-PROFILE INCIDENT OF CHAT-BOTS AND SIRI GIVING CONTROVERSIAL ANSWERS TO POLITICAL QUESTIONS.
LIKE THIS VIRAL TREND FROM NOVEMBER OF 2020 –
WHEN IPHONE USERS WERE ASKING SIRI “HOW OLD IS THE PRESIDENT?”
[iPhone user]
“How old is the president”
Kamala harris was born 56 years ago on tuesday october 20. 1964.”
[KARAH RUCKER]
SIRI’S ANSWER WAS UPDATED TO REFLECT THEN-PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S AGE AND THE GLITCH WAS FIXED.
THERE’S A MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ASKING A CHATBOT A QUESTION –
AND TYPING IT INTO A SEARCH ENGINE.
A SEARCH ENGINE PROVIDES MULTIPLE LINKS AND SOURCES.
A CHATBOT TYPICALLY PROVIDES ONE SINGLE DEFINITIVE ANSWER.
EVEN WHEN THOSE ANSWERS – ARE UNREFINED –
AT A CONTENTIOUS TIME WHEN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ITS IMPACT ON U.S. ELECTIONS REMAINS TO BE SEEN.
I’M KARAH RUCKER.
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