Experts feel electoral bodies can't be reactive to tech disruption

New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) A group of experts representing international electoral institutions have said that expanding digitisation increases exposure to cybersecurity vulnerabilities, while "opaque automated systems" raise concerns about transparency and accountability.

Poll bodies cannot afford to be reactive to technological disruptions, they felt, and noted that dependence on "external technological ecosystems" and uneven access to expertise further constrain institutional autonomy and widen disparities across jurisdictions.

The observations were made at an international symposium on 'AI and Elections: Innovation, Integrity and Institutional Preparedness' organised here last week by the Election Commission's training arm, India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM).

Meanwhile, TMC MP Saket Gokhale questioned the Election Commission for allegedly using a "mysterious software" in the ongoing special intensive revision of voters' list to map electors with the 2002 voter list.

"They converted the 2002 voter list from Bengali to English using AI. As a result, for example, the name "Amit" was translated by the software as "O-mit" instead of “Amit” in English," he posted on X.

He claimed that when people, whose names in English did not match the spellings of the AI-translated names from the 2002 list, were flagged as a 'logical discrepancy' and were issued notices for a hearing.

"Due to this 'botched AI and software', 1.67 crore voters were marked as 'logical discrepancy'. Eventually, ECI issued notices for hearing to 95 lakh voters," he said.

At the IIIDEM symposium last week, the panellists felt that artificial intelligence holds significant promise for electoral administration.

When thoughtfully deployed, AI can enhance voter facilitation, improve accessibility for marginalised and under-represented communities, optimise logistics and operational planning, strengthen data-informed decision-making, and modernise communication between institutions and citizens, they said, according to details shared by IIIDEM.

These applications can contribute to greater efficiency, responsiveness, and inclusivity within electoral systems.

"The discussions were equally attentive to the risks embedded within rapid technological adoption. The proliferation of misinformation and AI-generated deepfakes threatens the integrity of public discourse and, by extension, voter confidence," IIIDEM said.

Algorithmic bias, if insufficiently examined, may erode principles of equality and fairness. Expanding digitisation increases exposure to cybersecurity vulnerabilities, while opaque automated systems raise legitimate concerns about transparency and accountability, it noted.

Dependence on external technological ecosystems and uneven access to expertise further constrain institutional autonomy and widen disparities across jurisdictions, it said, citing proceedings of the symposium.

"Taken together, these concerns underscore a central institutional imperative: preparedness must precede, or at least accompany, technological integration. Ethical standards, regulatory clarity, operational safeguards, and sustained capacity-building are not peripheral considerations but foundational requirements," it said.

Electoral institutions cannot afford to be reactive to technological disruption and must actively shape the normative and operational frameworks within which such technologies are deployed, the experts felt.

The international panel included Alberto Fernandez Gibaja, head of programme, International IDEA; Juliane Muller, associate programme officer, International IDEA; Ameer Faiaz from the Election Commission of Sri Lanka; Raghava Mutharaju, associate professor, IIT Palakkad; and Sumit Talwar, co-founder of CreativebitsAI. PTI NAB NAB NSD NSD