Michael Schumacher has not appeared in public since suffering a brain injury after a skiing accident in 2013. However, the German weekly magazine Die Aktuelle carried a smiling photo of Schumacher on its cover on April 15, 2023 and published a fake interview produced by artificial intelligence with the headline “Michael Schumacher, first interview”.
The interview contained fabricated quotes about Schumacher’s family life and health after the accident. Towards the end of the article, it was stated that the interview was produced with artificial intelligence. Speaking to CNN, the Schumacher family’s lawyer confirmed that the family will take legal action against Die Aktuelle over this fake AI interview.
The family values privacy
After the accident, the Schumacher family kept updates on the motorsport legend’s health to a minimum and kept their privacy. In September 2021, Corinna Schumacher spoke about her husband’s condition in the documentary about his Formula 1 career, which aired on Netflix. “Every day shows me how strong you are,” she had said.
“We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael feel better and comfortable. And we try to make him feel our family, our connection. ‘The special is special,’ as he says. It is for me that he continues to enjoy his private life. It’s very important. Michael has always protected us, and now we are protecting Michael.”
The fake interview titled “My life has completely changed” on page eight of the magazine contains fictitious quotations attributed to Schumacher, referring to his family life and medical condition since the accident. However, only towards the end of the article, it is conveyed to the reader that the interview was produced by artificial intelligence.
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