Michael Schumacher's family to take legal action over German magazine's AI-generated interview
German magazine Die Aktuelle ran a front cover with a picture of a smiling Schumacher and the headline promising 'Michael Schumacher, the first interview'; the quotes were generated by artificial intelligence; Schumacher suffered a brain injury in a 2013 skiing accident
Thursday 20 April 2023 10:46, UK
Michael Schumacher's family is to take legal action against a German magazine that ran an 'interview' with the seven-time world champion that was generated by artificial intelligence.
Schumacher suffered a brain injury in a skiing accident in December 2013, and his family have guarded his privacy since with updates on his recovery kept to a minimum.
The latest edition of Die Aktuelle ran a front cover with a picture of a smiling Schumacher and the headline promising 'Michael Schumacher, the first interview'.
A strapline added: "it sounded deceptively real". Inside, it emerged the quotes had been produced by AI.
A spokesperson for the family confirmed to news agency Reuters that legal action would be taken.
In the 2021 Netflix documentary Schumacher, the 54-year-old's wife Corinna said: "Michael is here. Different, but he's here, and that gives us strength, I find. He still shows me how strong he is every day.
"We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he's comfortable. And to simply make him feel our family, our bond.
"And no matter what, I will do everything I can. We all will. We're trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does. And we are getting on with our lives.
"'Private is private', as he always said. It's very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us, and now we are protecting Michael."
