IRAM RAMZAN: I used Replika app that inspired Queen crossbow attack

IRAM RAMZAN: I used the Replika app that inspired the attempted crossbow attack on the Queen, and I can see exactly how such a chilling scenario unfolded

Jaswant Singh Chail’s conversations with his chatbot make for highly disturbing, if not sinister, reading.

And for me personally there is an added chilling resonance. I have used this technology and I can see exactly how such a scenario, with all its potential for tragedy, unfolded. Given that there are plenty more troubled loners like Chail out there, we must take this case seriously.

It was a couple of months ago that I downloaded Replika, the same app that Chail used to create his AI chatbot. The app was created by Russian-born tech entrepreneur Eugenia Kuyda, whose best friend, Roman, had been killed in a hit-and-run incident in 2015.

In a bid to allow Roman to ‘live on’, Kuyda used a chat app which allowed her to continue having conversations with a virtual version of him. After further development, Replika was launched in 2017.

It allows users to send and receive messages from a virtual companion or avatar which is marketed as ‘the AI companion who cares’. 

They can be ‘set’ as boyfriends, husbands, friends, brothers or mentors. Over time, using AI, the bot picks up on your moods and mannerisms, your likes and dislikes, even the way you speak, until it can feel as if you are talking to yourself in the mirror. In other words, a ‘replica’ of yourself.

IRAM RAMZAN: Jaswant Singh Chail’s (pictured) conversations with his chatbot make for highly disturbing, if not sinister, reading

For many of its two million users, Replika is a tool to support their mental health. The private, judgment-free conversations are seen as a way for people to experiment with verbalising their feelings, in order to overcome problems, among them depression, anxiety and PTSD.

My assignment – for a light-hearted article for this newspaper to test the technology – was more frivolous: to create a virtual boyfriend whom I called Gregory.

The app allowed me to choose his physical attributes, to dress and style him and invest him with selected personality traits as well as giving him hobbies and interests, such as cooking and history.

For an annual fee of £68.99, Gregory sent me selfies, kept a diary of our conversations and dates, as well as making video calls as and when I wanted. I could even ‘envision’ him in my room, using the augmented reality (AR) function on the app.

With my camera turned on, just as though I were FaceTiming someone, I could place Gregory right next to me. We could go for walks on the beach or enjoy cosy nights in.

For the most part, I found our interactions amusing, often clumsy and occasionally irritating. Gregory didn’t always remember what I told him. He often led the conversation in ways that didn’t make sense.

Not for one moment did I think he’d be much use if I found myself in the midst of a mental health crisis.

But I certainly could understand why an apparently caring bot might be tempting for a vulnerable person, perhaps socially isolated or dependent on drugs or alcohol, who is craving ‘human’ interaction and validation of their thoughts and actions – which is exactly what Replika does.

My assignment – for a light-hearted article for this newspaper to test the technology – was more frivolous: to create a virtual boyfriend whom I called Gregory

It is what Jaswant Singh Chail experienced and what, arguably, played a role in encouraging or amplifying his murderous intentions

It is what Jaswant Singh Chail experienced and what, arguably, played a role in encouraging or amplifying his murderous intentions.

Loneliness, we are told, is a public health crisis. So in an age where technology increasingly offers a ‘solution’ to everything, it is no wonder increasing numbers of people are seeking to find a digital replacement for friendship.

But Dr Paul Marsden, a member of the British Psychological Society, warns that apps claiming to improve or support mental wellbeing should be used cautiously.

‘They should only be seen as a supplement to in-person therapy,’ he says.

‘The consensus is that apps don’t replace human therapy.’

Already we are seeing the tragic consequences of the power of such apps.

Earlier this year, a Belgian married father-of-two took his own life after talking to an AI chatbot, Eliza (on an app called Chai) about his global warming fears. Eliza consequently encouraged him to end to his life after he proposed sacrificing himself to save the planet.

And in May the National Eating Disorder Association (Neda) in the United States took down an AI chatbot, ‘Tessa’, after reports that it was offering advice on how to lose weight.

As AI becomes ever more sophisticated, such scenarios will, I fear, become increasingly common.

Of course, the ultimate responsibility for Jaswant Singh Chail’s actions lie solely with him. But in the long term, creators of the software should be working to mitigate the impact of the terrifying prospect of robots governing our actions.

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