Michael Schumacher’s, the legendary Formula One pilot, “fake” appearance on the cover of the latest edition of the German magazine Die Aktuelle continues to get severe reactions.
Recently, the publishers of the magazine discharged the editor, followed by an apology from the family of Schumacher. Besides the fake image of Schumacher that appeared on the cover, the magazine also ran an “interview” with the seven-time F1 world champion, which is thoroughly generated by artificial intelligence.
Reminder: The Formula One legend, who is 54 years old, has never been seen publicly after suffering a deadly brain injury during skiing in the French Alps in December 2013.
The AI-generated Schumacher interview’s consequences
Schumacher’s family stated this week they prepare to take some legal action against Die Aktuelle, a magazine publishes weekly and owned by Funke media group.
As a response, Funke managing director Bianca Pohlmann said, “This tasteless and misleading article should never have appeared. It in no way meets the standards of journalism that we and our readers expect from a publisher like Funke.”
“As a result of the publication of this article, immediate personnel consequences will be drawn. Die Aktuelle editor-in-chief Anne Hoffmann, who has held journalistic responsibility for the paper since 2009, will be relieved of her duties as of today.”
The scandalous cover of Die Aktuelle’s latest edition shows a picture of smiling Schumacher with a headline saying, “Michael Schumacher, the first interview,” as well as a strapline added, “It sounded deceptively real.” The interview that appeared inside the magazine includes the quotes that referred to Schumacher but, basically, that had been generated by AI.
The reason that makes such an editorial move scandalous is the fact that Schumacher’s family remains strictly private in terms of the former driver’s health condition while limiting access only to the ones who are closest to Schumacher.
In a 2021 Netflix documentary, Schumacher’s wife, Corinna, said, “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 simply make him feel our family, our bond. 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.”
