Made-up AI interview leads to lawsuit

The family of former Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher is going to court. The German gossip magazine Die Aktuelle published this weekend the supposedly first interview with Schumacher since his bad skiing accident, but did not clearly state that the entire conversation was made up by an AI (artificial intelligence) tool.
The tabloid announced the 'interview' in a big way on the front page: "Michael Schumacher: the first interview". Only at the bottom of the interview was stated in small print that the interview was generated using artificial intelligence.
Schumacher, seven-time world champion in Formula 1, suffered a brain injury in a skiing accident in 2013. He was kept in a coma for six months, and then began working on his recovery at home. Since then, little news has been released about his condition.
In the fake interview, Schumacher says, among other things, that he closely follows the careers of his children - his son also drives in Formula 1 and his daughter is a professional horse rider. "My life has completely changed since the accident," he says in the fake interview.

Not the first time

It is not the first time that the German tabloid has been discredited for publishing fake news about Schumacher. In 2014, a photo of Schumacher appeared on the front page with the caption: He's in the sun!, suggesting the driver was on the mend, but the photo predated the skiing accident.
Although Schumacher has a mythical status in Germany, the family usually manages to keep information about his health limited to a small circle. This has already led to publications in the gossip magazines and to lawsuits. For example, the gossip magazine Bunte wrote in 2015 about the "Christmas miracle" that Schumacher was able to walk again. The magazine eventually had to pay a fine.
In Germany, there is currently also a discussion about how to deal with artificial intelligence. The publication of this fabricated article, which only seems to be intended to stimulate the magazine's sales, will therefore not do the reputation and possible acceptance of AI any good.