Editor Fired for Publishing AI Generated Michael Schumacher ‘Interview’

Photo: Clive Mason (Getty Images)

The German magazine, Die Aktuelle, which published an AI-fenerated interview with Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, has fired its editor and apologized to the seven-time world champion’s family, according to Reuters. Schumacher hasn’t been seen since December 2013 after suffering a serious brain injury while skiing in the French Alps.

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Days ago, we reported that the 54-year-old’s family was planning to pursue legal action against the magazine, owned by the Essen-based Funke media group, the outlet reports. The organization posed a statement on their website.

“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,” Bianca Pohlmann, Funke magazine managing director, said in the statement. “As a result of the publication of this article, immediate personnel consequences will be drawn.”

The statement went on to say that Anne Hoffman, Die Aktuelle’s editor-in-chief, who has “held journalistic responsibility for the paper since 2009” will be fired.

The latest edition of the magazine ran a front cover story with a picture of a smiling Schumacher and the headline ‘Michael Schumacher, the first interview.’ It very much was not. The article, as we’ve previously covered, was completely AI generated and made to look “deceptively real.”

Reuters reports that Schumacher’s family has maintained strict privacy regarding his condition, with limited access to the people closest to him, after suffering a nasty skiing injury in 2013.

“We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and make sure he’s comfortable, and to simply make him feel our family, our bond,” Corinne Schumacher said in a 2021 Netflix documentary, reported on by Reuters. “We’re trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does.