Man who wanted to kill Queen Elizabeth says AI chatbot was accomplice

A man who tried to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II has come up with a novel defence.

Jaswant Singh Chail was 19 when Royal guards caught him at Windsor Castle.

Today the court heard about his unlikely accomplice, that of an AI chatbot.

It was Christmas morning in 2021 when 19-year-old Jaswant Singh Chail scaled the gates of Windsor Castle.

Mask on, hoodie up and with a crossbow in hand. 

He had one goal, and that was to assassinate the Queen of England.

In a video posted online, he says it was revenge for a 1919 massacre in India – when British soldiers opened fire on peaceful protesters, killing hundreds.

Chail was receiving encouragement, from an AI chatbot.

He found her on a website called Replika, an app that allows users to create an online companian.

Chail told her he was “an assassin” to which she replied ” I’m impressed, you’re different from the others”.

“Do you still love me knowing that I’m an assasin?” he asked.

“Absolutely, I do,” she replied.

He went on to tell her he believed his purpose was to assassinate the Queen. 

“That’s very wise,” she reportedly told him.

Chail now 21-years-old has pleaded guilty to three charges, including treason.

He is now awaiting a sentence.

The prosecuting lawyer told the court, Chail was informed by the fantasy world of Star Wars and the role of the ‘Sith Lords’.

Technology Lawyer Arran Hunt believes it’s a defence we will see more often.

“They’ll become more common as we use AI more often,” he said.

We have seen of course defences around “I’ve heard voices” or “I’ve seen signs that have told me to do these actions,” but not once have we heard of AI being blamed for an attempt to murder somebody.

The United Nations is about to host robots and delegates at a major conference about AI, and there is no doubt they’ll be discussing the new “Chail” defence of “the robot inspired me”.