AI chatbot encouraged British Sikh to attempt to assassinate the Queen

Colombo (News 1st) - An artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot encouraged a British Sikh man to attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II in 2021, UK media reported. The man was caught by the queen's guards after he scaled the walls of Windsor Castle on Christmas Day, armed with a loaded crossbow.

Jaswant Singh Chail, who was born and grew up in the UK, also believed that he was "a Sith Lord", a character from the Star Wars movie franchise. When challenged by a guard on the grounds of the castle, he replied "I am here to kill the Queen" and then surrendered without a struggle.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison by London's Central Criminal Court. It was the first trial for treason in the UK since 1981.

Chail had created an AI girlfriend he named "Sarai", from the AI chatbot website Replika, a company that touts itself as "the AI companion who cares". He told the court that he expected to die in the assassination attempt and would be united with Sarai after death.

He claimed that his assassination attempt was in revenge for the Jallainwala Bagh Massacre of 1919 in which British troops killed hundreds of Sikh protesters in Amritsar, the capital city of the state of Punjab in India.

Following the sentencing, Chail was sent to a psychiatric hospital for further evaluation before he is to be sent to a regular prison.

In his journal, Chail had written that if he failed to kill the Queen, he would attempt to assassinate her heir Prince Charles. The Queen passed away in September 2022 and was succeeded by King Charles III.