A fake magazine “interview” with racing legend Michael Schumacher is raising questions about the ethical boundaries of AI.
Racing legend Michael Schumacher has broken his silence after years away from the public eye. Or has he? A German magazine faces severe criticism and a lawsuit for publishing a fake AI-generated interview with the racing legend.
AI-Generated Interview
The magazine Die Aktuelle claimed it had the scoop of the decade. It promised:
“No meager, nebulous half-sentences from friends. But answers from him! By Michael Schumacher, 54!”
The publication revealed that the interview was fake only after publication. The incident has raised ethical questions about the use of AI in journalism, particularly when it involves imitating a public figure without consent.
A Schumacher family spokesperson has told ESPN that they will pursue legal action.
Schumacher’s Family to Pursue Legal Action
Schumacher has been out of the public eye since a catastrophic skiing injury in December 2013. The German racing driver suffered a severe brain injury and was placed in a medically induced coma after his airlift to a hospital for emergency brain surgery.
For many months, there were no updates on his condition. In a statement in November 2014, his family said that he was still “making progress” but that “we must remain patient.”
Schumacher’s lawyer confirmed in September 2016 that he started to communicate with his family by moving his eyes and responding to instructions with his mouth.
Michael Schumacher holds a reputation as the greatest Formula One racer of all time. At the time of his retirement, he claimed the record for the most wins. He still maintains the record for the number of total fastest laps.
The role of AI in journalism and copywriting is a hot topic. News organizations, already facing a general decline in advertising revenue, worry about AI-driven news content that is not written or moderated by a human.
The latest controversy around Schumacher’s fake interview adds another ethical dilemma for an industry struggling to draw boundaries with this new technology.
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