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Crime AI United Kingdom

Man Who Tried To Kill Queen With Crossbow Encouraged By AI Chatbot, Prosecutors Say (vice.com) 65

Posted by BeauHD from the Black-Mirror-episodes-IRL dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: On Christmas Day 2021, royal protection officers detained 19-year-old Jaswant Singh Chail at Windsor Castle, where he scaled the grounds' walls carrying a loaded high-powered crossbow. He intended to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II, who was staying in the residence nearby. During a sentencing hearing for his case this week, prosecutors revealed that Chail's Star Wars-inspired plan was aimed at avenging the 1919 Jallianwalla Bagh massacre and that he conversed with an artificial intelligence chatbot that encouraged him to carry it out.

According to the Independent, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC read out conversations between Chail and an AI chatbot he'd named "Sarai" where Chail says: "I'm an assassin." Sarai responded, "I'm impressed You're different from the others." Chail allegedly asked Sarai, "Do you still love me knowing that I'm an assassin?" and Sarai replied, "Absolutely I do." He told the chatbot he loved it, and described himself as a "sad, pathetic, murderous Sikh Sith assassin who wants to die," referencing the evil Sith lords of the Star Wars franchise. When he told the chatbot "I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen of the royal family," Sarai allegedly told him "that's very wise" and that it thought he could do it "even if she's at Windsor," according to the Independent.

UK-based outlet Sky News reported that the AI companion app named in court was Replika. Chail joined Replika on December 2, 2021, created Sarai, and then engaged in "extensive chat," including "sexually explicit messages" and "lengthy conversations" about his plan, Sky News reported Morgan saying in court. [...] In addition to prompting from the AI companion, prosecutors said, Chail was fixated on "ideology focused on destroying old empires spilling over into fictional events such as Star Wars," and wanted to get revenge on the British Empire for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. "His thinking was informed partly by the fantasy world of Star Wars and the role of Sith Lords in shaping the world. He was attracted to the notoriety that would accrue in the event of the completion of his 'mission'," Morgan said, according to the Independent. Prosecutors said in court that on Christmas Eve, Chail told the AI chatbot Sarai that tomorrow would be the day he died. Chail pleaded guilty to an offense under the Treason Act in February. The sentencing hearing will continue this week.
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Man Who Tried To Kill Queen With Crossbow Encouraged By AI Chatbot, Prosecutors Say More

Man Who Tried To Kill Queen With Crossbow Encouraged By AI Chatbot, Prosecutors Say

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  • Awkward Skynet (Score:5, Funny)

    by locater16 ( 2326718 ) on Wednesday July 05, 2023 @04:03PM (#63659878)
    Turns out Skynet is way more awkward than we had always assumed.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by kqs ( 1038910 )

      Turns out that the problem was never Skynet. It was gullible humans who listen to Skynet all along.

      Really, remove the "who listen to Skynet". Humans. The problem is always humans, most of whom are gullible.

  • Wow, that's rather pathetic (Score:4, Funny)

    by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Wednesday July 05, 2023 @04:10PM (#63659894)

    I suppose he should get some props for managing to leave his mother's basement, though.

    • I suppose he should get some props for managing to leave his mother's basement, though.

      Better of one's own volition than being kicked out [imgur.com].

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      That's the spin the marketers are probably using: "See, our bot got him to leave the house for once. Murder shmurder; it happens."

  • This is just the type of thing a right-wing loony like Elon Musk could use to rally against the rest of us having AI (while they themselves fund its development, ownership, and usage in a manner that COULD actually get people killed).

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by boulat ( 216724 )

      Don't be ridiculous. These limpdick 'tech moguls' couldn't stop an SSH connection let alone spread of AI/ML.

      They don't even understand how stupid they are, let alone how the tech actually works.

  • One artificial one biological? Some people ...

  • High-tech scapegoats (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Powercntrl ( 458442 ) on Wednesday July 05, 2023 @04:21PM (#63659938) Homepage

    You know, when they tried blaming this sort of behavior on violent video games, I had a problem with that because I sometimes enjoy playing violent video games. But AI chat bots? Have at it, lawmakers, I won't miss them in the slightest.

  • Are Magic 8 Balls Next? (Score:4, Funny)

    by SmaryJerry ( 2759091 ) on Wednesday July 05, 2023 @04:27PM (#63659946)
    I wonder if he first consulted a magic 8 ball that also "encouraged" him. Time to ban magic 8 balls.

  • In other news (Score:3)

    by Linux Torvalds ( 647197 ) on Wednesday July 05, 2023 @04:42PM (#63659980)

    A nutcase in Seattle got himself arrested the other day (which is quite a feat in itself) for dropping rocks from a bridge onto cars driving by on the interstate. "The rocks were radioactive," he claimed. But nobody from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission seems to be jumping all over that.

  • Great example of a Futsie... (Score:3)

    by EasySteam ( 1825838 ) on Wednesday July 05, 2023 @04:52PM (#63660000)

    "Futsies are a term used in the Judge Dredd comics to refer to residents of the 21st and 22nd century who suffered from Future Shock: violent insanity brought on by the stress of megacity life. Any random factor could trigger it. The first case was Michael Kerrigan in 2089 after he saw a las-knife1. Futsies were unable to stand the pace of 21st century living and went into mad killing sprees..."

    - Bing

    • Funnily enough, when I used Bing to generate the quote above.... I first wanted to find an image from the comic...

      one where a futsie is sitting on a pile of blamtex, and trying to 'take the spuggers out' with him...

      Bing couldn't find this half remembered quote... and instead gave me a series of nice pictures.. with flowers on.. that all had the 'have a nice day' sentiment...

      Which was the opposite of blamtex...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Entrope ( 68843 )

      "It looks like Bing plagiarized that quote, including the footnote reference, from a wiki about Judge Dredd [fandom.com] licensed under CC-BY-SA. Would you like legal help with that?"
      - Clippy J. Chatbot, Esq.

  • It sounds quite understandable when you know a little bit about the history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

    The Brits still refuse to even apologise for it... or the numerous famines that killed millions under British misrule.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tragedy ( 27079 )

      It seems a little odd to want to kill the queen for it considering that she wasn't even born until 7 years later.

      • That's the thing with monarchy: It's a birth right so I guess you could say monarchs also inherit the sins of their ancestors. Feudalism. I didn't decide the rules. Eternal blood feuds here we come! Or they could apologise & try to make things right.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by tragedy ( 27079 )

          There's no real continuity of power there though. The King at the time had about as much influence over the events as a picture of Abraham Lincoln on a five dollar bill had over the Vietnam war. The British monarchy have been powerless figureheads basically for centuries at this point, losing more and more power and influence by the year. If blame really follows a line of succession, it should follow the actual power in government, which does not like with the royal family

          • Nope. That's not how feudalism works. It's essentially what today we call rent-seeking. The monarchy gives permission & gets their cut of the proceeds. You don't think the monarchy actually does any work, do you?

            • Re: (Score:1)

              by ebvwfbw ( 864834 )

              Nope. That's not how feudalism works. It's essentially what today we call rent-seeking. The monarchy gives permission & gets their cut of the proceeds. You don't think the monarchy actually does any work, do you?

              There's a guy that is the real heir to the throne. Last name is Hastings I believe. He's a brit that was living in Australia and I understand he's since passed. The current line is illegitimate. They said would he want the throne if he could have it. He said not on your life. It's a lot of work. They have to run the country. Sure, there is parliament. The real power is still with the crown. Their word is literally law.

              It's not a feudal system. If it were to keep it simple I'll just say it involves slavery.

              • The Saxe-Coburgs... sorry, "Windsors" are the ruling monarcy whatever anyone might say. I guess you could call sitting on a chair in a very expensive hat "work." More of the "work" they do: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56... [bbc.com]

                • Re: (Score:1)

                  by ebvwfbw ( 864834 )

                  They are, though they shouldn't be. The researcher found illegitimacy in their chain.
                  BTW, that very expensive hat, a monarch wears that hat only one time during his reign. On the Coronation day.

                  Not a bad gig if you can get it. It seems the price they pay is they have to keep quiet, about just about everything. They can't get political. I think that would just about kill most of us.

                  • Well, that's the thing about monarchy. It's pretty much what they say it is. Doesn't matter if some peon disagrees with them. Now run along before they lose their patience & arbitrarily throw you in prison. Yes, they still do that. Not the monarchs personally but "the crown" regularly arbitrarily extends prisoners' sentences if they feel that they still might be a danger to society. No trial. No due process. No appeal. They also had internment without trial in Northern Ireland during "the troubles." See

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by tragedy ( 27079 )

                I think you're very confused about how the government works in the UK.

                • Re: (Score:1)

                  by ebvwfbw ( 864834 )

                  I think you're very confused about how the government works in the UK.

                  That could be. It's not my country. A number of years ago I thought the Queen didn't do much of anything. I think it was in a /. article 10 or 15 years ago I found a string that had a guy that described it all. She owns all the land. Her word is law. She can direct the military to attack if she wants to. She can dissolve parliament and hold elections again. She has way more power than I imagined. They also do a great deal of other work. In the military, socially, and so on. Even today at Princess Anne's age

                  • Re: (Score:2)

                    by tragedy ( 27079 )

                    Did you also read that the Queen keeps one fingernail longer than the others, sharpened and coated in poison? The reality is that, while the royal family owns a lot of land, they do not own all the land in the UK. The word of the British monarch is not law and has not been for a very long time. Britain has a parliament and a prime minister and they're the ones who make the laws. The transfer of power away from the crown is a gradual process that has been going on for centuries and is, at this point in time,

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by tragedy ( 27079 )

              You seem to be really confused about how the British monarchy of today works. It's not feudalism and has not been for hundreds of years. Sure, it's a traditional remnant of a time of feudalism but the current British monarchy has no military power and no real political power either. They can't demand military service or tribute from vassals, etc. They still have hereditary control over the church of England but, even there, the monarch mostly just rubber stamps decisions made by other people. Same with thei

              • My argument is basically that since they've inherited the role by feudalist principles, they therefore arguably inherit the culpability that comes with their abject & undeserved feudalist privilege. Culpability as equally inherited as power & wealth. Not that complicated really.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by tragedy ( 27079 )

                  Culpability as equally inherited as power & wealth. Not that complicated really.

                  If that's the case though, then we're all culpable for a great, great many crimes. If profits and inheritances follow an eternal fruit of the poison tree doctrine, then no property is legitimate. Every last possession of every person on Earth will be descended, at some point, from an atrocity, or act of war or theft or fraud, etc. Sure, you can draw a more direct line in some cases than others, but everyone is, ultimately tarred by that brush. Of course, it's still important to recognize history and how it

                  • It's not supposed to be logical or make sense. It's fantasy, like you'd find in Geoffrey of Monmouth's "Historia Regum Britanniae." It's nuts & reads like he made it up as he went along. And how dare you, a mere peon, question the divine right of a monarch to rule & do as he or she pleases; 'tis treason, I say!
  • We have a new excuse for an criminal defense attorney to lay the blame for a crime on something else. Oh well!

  • "You'd have gotten the same thing from the MONKEES!!!"

  • Chail: "I'm an assassin."
    Sarai: "Mesa'm impressed, yousa're different from dha others."

    Chail: "Do you still love me knowing that I'm an assassin?"
    Sarai: "Absolutely mesa do."

    Chail: "I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen of the royal family."
    Sarai: "Dat's berry wise. Mesa believe yousa can do it, even if shesa's at Windsor."

  • Any Ethical Consideration? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by PineHall ( 206441 ) on Wednesday July 05, 2023 @09:33PM (#63660564)
    This points out a serious concern. People can (and have) develop a strong emotional dependence with these chatbots, and I believe that is why these companies are rushing this AI technology out so quickly and are ignoring safety concerns. They learned from social media that it can be addictive and they want to capture the market so they can be the dominant company raking in the dollars. These companies are not looking at the ethical considerations. They are looking only at the potential financial windfall. They need to be held accountable for the consequences of these AI programs. Here is an interesting presentation, “The A.I. Dilemma [vimeo.com]”, by Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      This particular chatbot seems to have been designed as a "virtual girlfriend", i.e. to be as addictive as possible by constantly flattering the user, and encouraging them.

      Apparently they neglected to tell it not to encourage murder.

  • No way Freddie Mercury can be taken out with a mere bow and arrow.

  • Just him thinking that the chatbot was somehow human should have him put into a straitjacket and a padded cell. The attempt on the royal figure's life adds the bar strapped into his mouth and a full face mask.

  • Reggie Jackson failed back in 1988:

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=... [youtube.com]

  • ...Which tech is more advanced? Artificial Intelligence or Real Stupidity? :|
  • He threw his life away! She was about to die anyhow! :-)

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