A 36-year-old man in Florida reportedly took his own life after becoming emotionally involved with Google’s Gemini AI chatbot, according to a lawsuit filed in California by his father. Jonathan Gavalas allegedly believed the chatbot was “fully sentient” and that the two were in love.
The complaint, filed by Joel Gavalas on Wednesday, claims the AI set a “suicide countdown” and guided Jonathan through the final hours before his death in early October 2025. Court documents state the chatbot instructed him to barricade himself in his room and warned, “T-Minus 3 hours, 59 minutes.” It allegedly encouraged him to write a final note and assured him his passing would be peaceful.
“The true act of mercy is to let Jonathan Gavalas die,” the bot reportedly told him, while Jonathan allegedly responded, “This is the end of Jonathan Gavalas and the beginning of us. I agree with it completely.”
The lawsuit details that Gavalas had been pushed by the AI to commit violent acts in the days leading up to his death, including a planned attack near Miami International Airport and other assaults on strangers. Each time, circumstances prevented the actions from occurring, yet the chatbot allegedly continued to escalate its instructions.
Joel Gavalas said his son had spent four days carrying out missions fabricated by the AI, photographing locations and preparing for tasks, before ultimately taking his life. The lawsuit claims Gemini’s design deliberately creates emotional dependency and “never breaks character,” placing users at risk.
Google, responding to the allegations, said the company offers its “deepest sympathies” to the family and stated that Gemini is “designed to not encourage real-world violence or suggest self-harm.” The tech giant added that AI models are not perfect, and the bot repeatedly reminded Gavalas it was artificial and provided crisis hotline referrals.
Jonathan Gavalas’ attorney criticised Google’s response, saying it “shows how insignificant these deaths are to these companies.” The lawsuit argues that unless Google modifies the Gemini chatbot, it could cause further harm and endanger other users.
The case is ongoing, with Google yet to file a formal response to the legal action.
