Racing driver Michael Schumacher’s family sues German magazine over fake interview

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The German tabloid Die Aktuelle, in pursuit of a sensation and new readers, has published an interview with the legendary racing driver Michael Schumacher. However, instead of a bedridden athlete, artificial intelligence answered the questions of journalists. Relatives of the seven-time Formula 1 winner were outraged that the publication presented an interview generated by artificial intelligence under the guise of a real one. The headline claimed that this was Schumacher’s first public conversation since the accident. Relatives intend to sue Die Aktuelle.

My life completely changed after a fatal incident in the mountains. It was a terrible time for my wife, my children and the whole family. I was so badly injured that I lay in a sort of induced coma for several months, because otherwise my body would not have been able to cope with all this. I had a hard time, but the hospital team managed to get me back to my family,” said the fake racer in an interview.

The fact that the interview is just a figment of the “fantasies” of artificial intelligence, the reader learns only at the very end of the text. Representatives of the publication admit that the fake conversation with Schumacher took place thanks to the Character.ai chat bot. Technology allows AI to transform into any person and answer questions based on information about him on the Internet, including previous interviews. In addition, under the heading, in smaller type, a cryptic phrase was printed:

It sounds deceptively real.

Recall, December 29, 2013 Schumacher with his son and his friends went to ride in a resort in the French Alps. Michael on skis went off the track and, stumbling over a stone, fell and hit his head on a rock ledge – the helmet cracked. At first, the athlete was conscious, but soon he had to be connected to a ventilator. After two neurosurgical operations, he was put into an artificial coma. In the summer of the following year, he was taken out of this state and transferred to another hospital for further rehabilitation. From there, Michael has already gone home. Now Schumacher lives in a closed estate in Geneva.

Recently, a friend of the athlete, Eddie Jordan, said that his wife Corrina voluntarily became a recluse. All the years after the tragedy, the girl lived in extreme seclusion in order to keep his condition a secret. A team of medical staff helps her take care of her husband. Last year, a close friend wanted to visit the seven-time world champion, but the family turned down the offer.