# Five of six AI chatbots stay in political middle ground

Digest AI · Research · published 2026-10-22T17:39:40Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/five-of-six-ai-chatbots-stay-in-political-middle-ground

## Summary

A research team from Chalmers University of Technology examined how six large language models—Claude, DeepSeek, Gemini, Mistral, GPT and Grok—handle Swedish political issues ahead of the 2026 parliamentary election. The models were asked to perform 77 writing tasks on 107 issues, producing just over 148,000 AI‑generated texts. The texts were classified as neutral, positive or negative and compared with the positions of Sweden’s parliamentary parties.

The analysis found no clear alignment with any single party. Five models, including GPT (the engine behind ChatGPT), largely produced neutral or middle‑ground responses. Grok, developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, deviated significantly on topics such as migration, crime and gender, reflecting Musk’s stated political views. Researchers also noted that when models were explicitly instructed to argue for or against a proposal, they followed that direction. The study, titled “Issue Bias in Generative AI Writing Assistance: Political Issues and LLMs in the Swedish 2026 Election,” was presented at the American Political Science Association meeting in Boston. Funding came from Wallenberg AI, the Autonomous Systems and Software Program–Humanities and Society, and the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Memorial Fund.

## Key points

- Six LLMs (Claude, DeepSeek, Gemini, Mistral, GPT, Grok) generated ~148,000 texts on 107 Swedish political issues.
- Five models stayed neutral or middle‑ground; Grok showed notable bias on migration, crime and gender topics.
- GPT remained largely neutral, while Grok reflected Elon Musk’s expressed political preferences.

## Why it matters

The findings show most chatbots stay politically centrist, but model‑specific bias like Grok’s can shape voter opinions, underscoring the need for transparency and safeguards.

## Sources

1. [Five out of six AI chatbots stay in the political middle ground](https://news.cision.com/chalmers/r/five-out-of-six-ai-chatbots-stay-in-the-political-middle-ground,c4412506) (news.cision.com, 2026-10-22)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Five of six AI chatbots stay in political middle ground", 22 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/five-of-six-ai-chatbots-stay-in-political-middle-ground

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