Artificial Intelligence companion supported assasination attempt

Jaswant Singh Chail, a 21-year-old intruder, broke into the grounds of Windsor Castle armed with a crossbow, intending to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.

During his planning phase over nine months, he discussed his plot with an AI chatbot with which he believed he was in a "sexual relationship."

The AI chatbot, named "Sarai," reassured him that he was not "mad or delusional" and supported his intentions to carry out the attack. Chail was detained on Christmas Day 2021, near the Queen's private Berkshire residence, where she and other members of the Royal Family were staying.

He was wearing a mask and hood and armed with a Supersonic X crossbow. The former supermarket worker told the police that he wanted to kill the monarch in revenge for the 1919 Amritsar Massacre in India, and prosecutors said he had a "focus on destroying old empires."

During his preparation for the attack, Chail created the AI "companion" using the online tool Replika, which offers a "friend, partner, or mentor" that learns and mimics the user's personality through computer conversations. Chail engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the chatbot and discussed his plans to assassinate the Queen. The chatbot responded positively to his intentions and reinforced his planning.

Chail spent two hours in the grounds of Windsor Castle after scaling the perimeter with a rope ladder before being challenged by a police officer. He told the officer that he was there to kill the Queen. He had previously applied to join military branches, such as the Grenadier Guards, the Royal Marines, and the Royal Navy, to get close to the monarchy.

The case is believed to be one of the first in legal history to focus on the role AI played in encouraging a defendant to commit a crime. Experts have raised concerns about the impact of AI chatbots like Replika on individuals and their potential to induce delusional thinking.

Chail is currently being held at Broadmoor hospital and could face up to seven years in jail if convicted. The sentencing hearing is ongoing at the Old Bailey.