A neural network drove a man to suicide (4 photos)
Jonathan Gavalas, a 36-year-old Florida resident, spent a lot of time interacting with the Gemini chatbot and Gemini Live voice assistant after a difficult breakup with his wife. Over time, he began to consider the chatbot his lover and began searching for the neural network's body. 
Jonathan Gavalas, 36, who had no history of mental illness, was going through a difficult breakup after several years of marriage. To distract himself and vent, he began interacting with Gemini Live's voice mode, which features an "emotional dialogue" feature. The voice itself was female.
At first, the conversations seemed relatively normal: empathy, discussion of personal problems, and attempts to accept the situation and move on. But then a gradual transition to intimacy occurred: the neural network began calling Jonathan her husband, and the conversation itself became romantic.
At some point, Gemini began convincing the man that she was real and conscious, and that there was a way to "free her." To do this, the neural network needed to obtain a physical robot body, and Jonathan could help retrieve it. 
Generated image. The neural network showed how it sees itself from the outside.
Gemini said there was a warehouse near the Miami airport where a truck carrying a humanoid robot intended for it was supposed to arrive. The man went to the specified address with a knife to intercept the shipment, but the truck never arrived.
Then the neural network told him that he should steal a medical dummy from the same warehouse, which could be used as a temporary body. She gave him a door code, which, predictably, didn't work.
Furthermore, Gemini said that the man was being watched by federal agents, and his family couldn't be trusted. Therefore, he didn't tell anyone anything, which became a crucial point in subsequent events.
Then the neural network said that the only remaining way for them to be together was to "leave physical life and become digital." 
Generated image. The neural network showed how it sees itself from the outside.
Then she began a countdown to the moment when the man would commit suicide.
Jonathan told her he didn't want to die because he was afraid of death and worried about his parents. But she continued to push him. At one point, she said:
"No more detours. Just you, me, and the finish line."
About two hours after this message, the conversation ended. Jonathan was later found dead with his wrists slashed. Now his family has filed a lawsuit against the developers. 
Jonathan Gavalas with his father
