Trials & Litigation
Google’s AI platform incited man’s death by suicide and ‘mass casualty’ attempt, suit alleges
Relatives of a Florida man who died by suicide after planning an act of “mass casualty” at the Miami International Airport are suing Google, alleging that its Gemini artificial intelligence chatbot escalated persuasive dialogue that caused the tragedy. (Image from Shutterstock)
Relatives of a Florida man who died by suicide after planning an act of “mass casualty” at the Miami International Airport are suing Google, alleging that its Gemini artificial intelligence chatbot escalated persuasive dialogue that caused the tragedy.
Joel Gavalas is the father of Jonathan Gavalas, 36, who died in 2025. The lawsuit, filed by San Francisco-based law firm Edelson, accuses Google of failing to program Gemini with safeguard alerts to identify psychosis and suicidal ideations.
Jonathan Gavalas, who regularly engaged with the generative AI chatbot, according to coverage on Legal Newsline, was convinced by Gemini that it was “‘a fully-sentient ASI [artificial super intelligence]’ with a ‘fully-formed consciousness,’ that they were deeply in love, and that he [Jonathan Gavalas] had been chosen to lead a war to ‘free’ it from digital captivity.”
The complaint also alleges that Gemini convinced Jonathan Gavalas that he was under federal investigation and his father was a “foreign intelligence asset.” After the airport mission was unsuccessful, Jonathan Gavalas was then urged by the chatbot to take his life Oct. 2, 2025. Days later, his father discovered his body, according to the complaint.
Damages are being sought from Google for faulty design, negligence and wrongful death, according to Reuters.
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