Michael Schumacher AI 'exclusive interview'
Occurred: April 2023
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German tabloid magazine Die Aktuelle received a public dressing down for publishing a so-called 'exclusive interview' with former F1 racing driver Michael Schumacher. Schumacher has been in an induced coma since a 2014 skiing accident. The publication of the interview swiftly resulted in widespread outcry and ridicule.
The article was produced using Character AI, an AI system that automatically generated 'quotes' by Schumacher about his health and family, and only revealed it had been artificially generated at the bottom of the 'interview'. The magazine ran it on its front cover, with the headline 'Michael Schumacher, the first interview'.
The Funke Media Group, which owns Die Aktuelle, later apologised for the incident and fired the magazine's editor-in-chief Anne Hoffmann. The Schumacher family said they would take legal action against the magazine.
Operator: Die Aktuelle
Developer: Character AI
Country: Germany
Sector: Media/entertainment/sports/arts
Purpose: Communicate with personalities
Technology: Chatbot; NLP/text analysis; Neural network; Deep learning; Machine learning
Issue: Mis/disinformation; Privacy; Ethics
Transparency: Governance; Marketing
System
Legal, regulatory
TBC
News, commentary, analysis
Page info
Type: Incident
Published: April 2023