A 29-year-old man in Sydney has been remanded in custody after Interpol flagged his conversation with the AI chatbot Claude. David Lan Thackray allegedly told the chatbot he planned to attack a childcare centre near his home in Hurstville. Court heard Thackray claimed he would “go down to the local Westfield right now and shoot up the local daycare”. His Claude account was later suspended. Thackray was arrested on Sunday, 18 October, after the conversation was flagged to Interpol. He was held for a mental health assessment, with the case returning to court once the evaluation is completed. He was charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. Prosecutors argued he intended to start murdering people in Sydney in the style of the alleged Bondi Beach attack, which left at least 15 people dead. His lawyer, Danilo Rajkovic, told the court there was “no weight behind what he was saying”, saying Thackray had been stressed and frustrated after trying to get help from the chatbot for an ear infection. Thackray, described in court as having no criminal history, remains in custody pending his mental health evaluation.