The editor of a German magazine who conducted an “interview” with former Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher – including quotes generated by artificial intelligence – has been fired.
The editors of Die Aktuell, a weekly from the Funke media group, also apologized to Schumacher’s family, who announced this week that they would take legal action.
Funke Managing Director Bianca Pohlmann announced: “This tasteless and misleading article should never have appeared. This in no way corresponds to the journalistic standards that we and our readers expect from a publisher like Funke.
“Following the publication of this article, immediate personal consequences will be drawn. Current editor-in-chief Anne Hoffmann, who has been responsible for the newspaper since 2009, will be relieved of her post from today.”
The magazine featured a cover by Schumacher with a headline that read: “Michael Schumacher, the first interview.” The caption added: “It sounded deceptively real.” It was not until the pages of the magazine that it came to light that the quotes attributed to the former racing driver were generated by artificial intelligence.
Schumacher suffered brain damage while skiing in December 2013. He has not been seen in public since then and his family has taken steps to protect his privacy.
Source: Deadline
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