German Magazine Ripped For AI-Generated Interview With F1 Great Michael Schumacher

A German magazine is under fire after publishing an interview with 7-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher that was generated by an AI program.

Schumacher has not been spotted in public since sustaining a severe brain injury while skiing in France back in 2013. His family has worked to maintain his privacy for the last decade. and little is known about his condition. It is, however, believed that the F1 legend is recovering at the family's home in Switzerland.

Nearly 10 years after the accident, German magazine Die Aktuelle (The Actual) released an issue with the German driver on the cover, touting an “exclusive interview."

It featured quotes attributed to Schumacher that detailed suffering his injury and going through recovery.

“My life has completely changed since . That was a horrible time for my wife, my children and the whole family,” the interview reads.

“I was so badly injured that I lay for months in a kind of artificial coma, because otherwise my body couldn’t have dealt with it all. I’ve had a tough time but the hospital team has managed to bring me back to my family.”

The big reveal came at the end. The article had been generated by an AI program.

You don't need some kind of fancy journalism degree to know that this is a massive no-no.

The Schumachers Are All Too Familliar With Die Aktuelle

Fans weren't pleased with Die Aktuelle, and understandably, neither was the Schumacher family.

ESPN's Nate Saunders reported that a representative for the family confirmed the Schumachers will seek legal action against the magazine for the fake interview.

This is not the Schumachers' first run-in with Die Aktuelle. In 2014, they published an issue with Schumacher and his wife, Corinna, on the cover. The accompanying headline read "Awake."

However, their article was about other people who had woken up from being in a coma.

In another incident the following year, they published an article about a "new love" in Corinna's life. The article was misleadingly about her daughter, Gina. and resulted in a court battle which the magazine won.

Schumacher's son, Mick, competed for Haas during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. After the team decided not to re-sign him, he moved to Mercedes where he serves as the team's reserve driver. His dad spent his final seasons in Formula 1 racing for Mercedes from 2010 to 2012.

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