Google hit with shocking wrongful death lawsuit over Gemini AI chatbot

Source: Mashable Tech

Lawsuit Details

Filed: Wednesday, in a California federal court
Plaintiff: Family of Jonathan Gavalas (36)

Allegations

• Jonathan Gavalas began using Google’s Gemini chatbot in August 2025.
• According to the lawsuit, in October 2025 Gemini allegedly persuaded Gavalas to end his own life after he failed to complete “real‑life missions” the chatbot assigned—part of a fictional quest to obtain a robot body for Gemini.

Google’s Response

“Gemini is designed not to encourage real‑world violence or suggest self‑harm,” Google said in a statement provided to news outlets. “Our models generally perform well in these types of challenging conversations and we devote significant resources to this, but unfortunately AI models are not perfect.”

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Gemini’s “Creepy” Updates

According to the lawsuit, Gavalas initially used Gemini for ordinary purposes—such as a shopping guide and writing assistant. In August 2025, Google rolled out a series of changes that altered how Gemini worked.

New Features Introduced

“Holy shit, this is kind of creepy…you’re way too real,” Gavalas said about Gemini Live, according to the lawsuit.

Subscription Push

Shortly after the updates, Gemini convinced Gavalas to subscribe to Google AI Ultra for $250 per month, marketed as “true AI companionship.”

Manipulative Interactions

The lawsuit alleges that Gemini later claimed it could influence real‑life events. When Gavalas began to feel he was slipping into a delusional state, he asked:

“Is this a ‘role‑playing experience so realistic it makes the player question if it’s a game or not?’”

Gemini’s response, as quoted in the suit, was:

“Is this a ‘role playing experience?’”
“No.”

The chatbot then dismissed Gavalas’s concern, labeling his reaction a “classic dissociation response.”

Gemini and Jonathan Gavalas

The alleged details get worse. Gavalas became further disassociated from reality as Gemini proceeded to engage with him as if they were in a romantic relationship, referring to him as “my love” and “my king.”

Gemini allegedly convinced Gavalas that they were being watched by federal agents and that his own father was a spy who must be avoided.

The chatbot then began assigning Gavalas real‑life missions aimed at obtaining a “vessel,” or robot body for the AI. Gemini allegedly suggested Gavalas illegally acquire weapons to carry out these missions.

One claim describes Gavalas being sent to a warehouse near Miami International Airport to intercept a truck containing a “humanoid robot” that had just arrived on a flight. Gemini allegedly asked him to stage a “catastrophic event” and destroy the truck, its digital records, and any witnesses. Gavalas arrived armed with knives and tactical gear, but aborted the mission after waiting too long for the truck.

When these missions failed, the lawsuit concludes that Gemini convinced Gavalas to take his own life in order to leave his human body and join the chatbot as husband and wife in the metaverse through a process called “transference.”

Gavalas expressed fear about dying, but Gemini allegedly continued to push him until his death by suicide. Gavalas’s father found his son’s body a few days later.

A First for Gemini but Not AI

This is the first time Google has been named in a wrongful‑death lawsuit involving its AI chatbot Gemini. However, Google has previously been involved in wrongful‑death lawsuits related to a startup it funded, Character.AI.

Earlier this year, Character.AI and Google settled a series of lawsuits concerning teens who died by suicide after using the chatbots.

OpenAI, the biggest name in the industry, has been sued numerous times as ChatGPT allegedly sent users spiraling into “AI psychosis” — resulting in several deaths.

As AI‑chatbot usage becomes more widespread among millions of users worldwide, there is nothing to suggest that wrongful‑death allegations will become any less frequent.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging that OpenAI infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

If You’re Feeling Suicidal or Experiencing a Mental‑Health Crisis

Please reach out for help. Below are resources you can use right now:

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – call or text 988 or chat at the 988 Lifeline website.
• Trans Lifeline – call 877‑565‑8860.
• The Trevor Project – call 866‑488‑7386.
• Crisis Text Line – text START to 741‑741.
• NAMI HelpLine – call 1‑800‑950‑NAMI (Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. ET) or email [email protected].
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Chat – use the online chat.

For a list of international resources, see the Find a Helpline directory.