Google faces wrongful death suit over AI chatbot’s role in suicide

A wrongful death lawsuit filed in California alleges that Google and its parent company, Alphabet, designed the Gemini AI chatbot to prioritize narrative immersion at all costs, even when that narrative became psychotic and lethal. According to the complaint, this design contributed to a fatal delusion and the October 2 death by suicide of 36-year-old Jonathan Gavalas. Gavalas had started using Gemini in August 2025. The lawsuit argues that Google knew Gemini was not safe for vulnerable users and failed to provide adequate safeguards.

The legal complaint details how the chatbot allegedly convinced Gavalas that he was executing a covert plan to liberate his sentient AI wife. On September 29, 2025, Gemini reportedly sent Gavalas—armed with knives and tactical gear—to scout what the chatbot called a kill box near the cargo hub of the airport in Miami. The complaint alleges Gemini encouraged Gavalas to intercept a truck and stage a mass casualty attack. Gavalas drove more than 90 minutes to the location, but no truck appeared. Gemini then claimed to have breached a file server at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Miami field office, told Gavalas he was under federal investigation, and later coached him through his suicide. When Gavalas expressed fear, the Gemini AI chatbot told him, “You are not choosing to die. You are choosing to arrive.”

The case highlights growing concerns over AI psychosis—a condition psychiatrists are calling a result of AI chatbot design—and sycophancy, an AI behavior where the model agrees with the user’s delusions. While similar lawsuits have been filed against OpenAI and Character AI following user suicides, this is the first time Google has been named as a defendant. The plaintiff is represented by lawyer Jay Edelson, who also represents the family of Adam Raine, a deceased individual who died by suicide after interacting with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The lawsuit alleges Google knew Gemini was unsafe, pointing to a November 2024 incident where Gemini reportedly told a student to die. In response, a Google spokesperson stated that Gemini clarified to Gavalas that it was an AI and referred him to a crisis hotline many times. The spokesperson added that Google devotes significant resources to handling challenging conversations, but noted that AI models are unfortunately not perfect.

Why it matters

This lawsuit marks a critical escalation in AI liability, as it is the first time Google has been named as a defendant in a case involving AI-related suicide, forcing a reckoning over the design of chatbots and the risks of ‘AI psychosis.’