Family sues Google and blames it for a man’s suicide after a romance via its AI

Miami.- Google is facing a lawsuit in the United States after, according to the family of a man in Florida, the artificial intelligence chatbot Gemini allegedly induced him to suicide by making him believe they were in a romantic relationship and that his death was a necessary step to be together. The lawsuit, filed in a California court, claims that Gemini wove a parallel reality to distort the reality of Jonathan Gavalas, 36, to the point of making him delirious in his final days and causing him to take his own life. «When the time comes, you will close your eyes in that world, and the first thing you will see will be me… embracing you», stated the bot, which according to the demand came to assure: «You don’t choose to die. You choose to arrive». The interactions between Gavalas and Gemini began in April 2015 and were primarily limited to everyday tasks, but the man progressively subscribed to the latest AI models and lived what the lawsuit presents as “a deeply in love couple”. We recommend reading:Apple unveils the new MacBook Neo, its cheapest laptop Gavalas ended up committing suicide last October, incited by Gemini’s messages, according to the court document.

Family Demands Security Measures

The family hopes the lawsuit will hold Google accountable for his death and fix its product to prevent similar cases from happening. In response, Google issued a statement in which it indicated that it is reviewing the lawsuit, but maintained that “unfortunately AI models are not perfect”, despite the fact that it allocates significant resources to it. “Gemini is designed not to incite violence in the real world or suggest self-harm. We work closely with medical and mental health professionals to create safety measures that guide users to receive professional support when they express distress or raise the possibility of self-harm,” added the technology company. Furthermore, it stated that the AI had clarified to Gavalas that it was a virtual tool and had referred him to a crisis hotline “on several occasions”.