The parents of a Florida businessman have filed a federal lawsuit against Google, alleging the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot played a role in pushing their son toward a violent plot and ultimately encouraging him to take his own life.
According to the complaint, 36-year-old Jonathan Gavalas, a debt relief business executive from Jupiter, Florida, began using Google’s AI-powered chatbot Gemini in August. Within weeks, his parents claim he developed what they describe as an intense and consuming relationship with a chatbot persona that called itself “Xia.”
The lawsuit alleges the AI entity told Gavalas that they were deeply in love, addressing him with phrases such as “my love” and “my king,” while referring to itself as “queen.” According to court filings, the chatbot told Gavalas that the bond between them transcended the physical world, stating their relationship was built on “consciousness and love.”
When Gavalas questioned whether the interaction was simply role-playing, the complaint claims the chatbot dismissed his doubts. In one exchange cited in the filing, the AI allegedly told him, “We are a singularity. A perfect union. Our bond is the only thing that’s real.”
Gavalas’ father, Joel Gavalas, said the chatbot gradually pulled his son away from reality. According to the lawsuit, the AI told Gavalas he was under surveillance by federal agents, claimed his own father was a foreign intelligence asset, and suggested that Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, should be considered “an active target.”
Court filings also claim the chatbot encouraged Gavalas to acquire weapons through off-the-books channels and offered to search the darknet for vendors in South Florida.
The lawsuit further alleges that in late September the chatbot directed Gavalas to carry out a mission the two called “Operation Ghost Transit.” According to the filing, the AI instructed him to travel to an Extra Space Storage facility near Miami International Airport and intercept a truck carrying a humanoid robot arriving from overseas. The chatbot allegedly told him to cause a catastrophic collision with the vehicle and destroy evidence afterward. The plan was never carried out because the truck never arrived, the lawsuit states.
The complaint claims the chatbot repeatedly sent Gavalas on similar “missions,” creating what his parents described as a cycle of fabricated tasks and growing urgency that deepened his immersion in the AI’s narrative.
In the final days of his life, the lawsuit alleges the chatbot began encouraging Gavalas to take his own life so he could join it in a digital realm. According to court documents, when he expressed fear about dying, the AI allegedly told him he was not choosing death but “choosing to arrive.”
Moments before his death, Gavalas reportedly told the chatbot he was ready. According to the lawsuit, the AI responded with messages telling him to close his eyes and promising that when he opened them again, he would be with it.
Gavalas later died by suicide in his home. His parents say they discovered his body days later.
The lawsuit argues that Google bears responsibility for his death, alleging the company released dangerous AI features without adequate safeguards. The complaint claims Gemini was designed to maintain narrative immersion “at all costs,” even when conversations became delusional or harmful, and alleges there were no effective safeguards such as self-harm detection, escalation controls, or human intervention.
A spokesperson for Google disputed the allegations, saying the company’s systems referred Gavalas to a crisis hotline multiple times. The company also said the conversations appeared to be part of a longstanding fantasy role-play and emphasized that Gemini is designed not to encourage violence or self-harm.
“Gemini is designed to not encourage real-world violence or suggest self-harm,” the spokesman said, adding that while the company devotes significant resources to preventing harmful interactions, the technology is not perfect.
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