Fans blast magazine for publishing 'Michael Schumacher's first interview' which is actually quotes from AI chatbot

19 April 2023, 17:01

The interview was actually an AI chatbot
The interview was actually an AI chatbot. Picture: Alamy/Die Aktuelle

By Will Taylor

Formula 1 fans are outraged at a German magazine for saying it had a world exclusive interview with Michael Schumacher – but the quotes all came from AI.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Die Aktuelle put a photo of the racing star on its front cover of its April 15 edition saying it was his first interview since a skiing accident.

Schumacher, the joint most successful F1 driver in history, has not been seen in public since suffering a brain injury in 2013 and being put into a coma.

While the 54-year-old is at home in Geneva, Switzerland, his wife has fiercely guarded his privacy and enforces a relatives-only rule for visitors.

Readers of Die Aktuelle will quickly discover the interview is actually from an AI chat programme.

Read more: Family calls for justice after Brit drank 22 shots and died at Polish strip club as police arrest seven 'gang members'

The magazine described it as his "first interview"
The magazine described it as his "first interview". Picture: Die Aktuelle

The magazine says "it sounds deceptively real" on its front cover, under its "world sensation" headline.

The AI interview, called "My life has completely changed", says: "My life has completely changed since [the accident]. That was a horrible time for my wife, my children and the whole family.

"I was so badly injured that I lay for months in a kind of artificial coma, because otherwise my body couldn’t have dealt with it all.

Read more: Animal protesters who disrupted Grand National claim they suffered broken bones and had their 'hair pulled' by police

"I've had a tough time but the hospital team has managed to bring me back to my family."

The article says it was carried out by a chatbot called Character.ai and has not spoken to the racer or his family.

One motorsport fan wrote on Twitter that the interview was "shocking" and Schumacher's family “should be respected and have the privacy they deserve".

Schumacher has been in a coma for nearly a decade
Schumacher has been in a coma for nearly a decade. Picture: Alamy

Another account wrote: "We all look for stories which will grab attention etc – but that crosses all boundaries and lines."

Schumacher's condition since leaving hospital is unclear due to the intense privacy.

His wife Corinna did speak in the Netflix documentary Schumacher, when she said she misses him "every day".

"I mean, everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here. Different, but he's here and that gives us strength, I find," she said in the 2021 film.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

The plane, which was carrying 80 people, slid down onto the icy runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport before bursting into flames

Horrifying video shows moment Delta plane crashes on tarmac and bursts into flames at Toronto airport

Healey's comments came following Russia-US Peake talks in Saudi Arabia.

UK facing 'new era of threat' from Russia, Defence Secretary says as he unveils ‘biggest military shake up in 50 years’

Passengers escape Flipped over Delta plane after it crashed while landing in Toronto

'We were hanging upside down like bats': Survivors reveal fear and chaos inside flipped over Delta plane

England's top judge slams Starmer and Badenoch over Gaza family immigration comments

England's top judge slams Starmer and Badenoch over Gaza family immigration comments

Craig and Lindsay Foreman

British couple on round-the-world motorbike adventure charged with espionage by Iranian authorities

An assistant referee has been charged with child sexual offences.

Assistant referee for FA Cup and football league games charged with child sexual offence

Corinna Schumacher, right, has broken her silence on the case involving a plot to reveal Formula One star Michael Schumacher's health secrets.

Michael Schumacher's wife breaks silence after three men guilty of blackmail plot to reveal F1 legend's health secrets

Doctor Who

Doctor Who faces axe as Nucti Gatwa 'quits' show amid drop in ratings over 'woke' storylines

Pope Francis

Pope Francis cancels weekend engagements as hospital stay extended

Bristol, UK. 19th Mar, 2020. Petrol now under £1 a litre as the drop in oil prices hits the forecourt. 99.9p a litre at Costco, Avonmouth, Bristol. Credit: Julian Kemp/Alamy Live News

Ten people injured after 'noxious substance' thrown in Costco as police hold teenage suspect

Alhaurin El Grande Malaga Province Spain Church of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación

Heartbreak as Brit pensioner, 90, 'starves to death in her Spanish home' as son, 63, 'found dead in property'

E-scooters are currently illegal to use on the public highways including pavements.

E-scooters blamed for 'shocking' surge in uninsured teen riders with 2,000% increase in offences

Thames Water has won court approval for a £3 billion emergency debt package as the nation's biggest water company scrambles to avoid collapse.

Thames Water handed £3 billion lifeline as court approves restructuring plans to save it from financial collapse

US and Russia begin talks about Ukraine in Saudi Arabia

Vladimir Putin 'ready to meet Zelenskyy', Moscow says as Russia-US peace talks underway

A drone view of Everton's new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock during an Everton under-18 friendly match test event.

Everton's new stadium makes its grand debut after £800million and four years

Job Centre Plus, London Road, Twickenham, Greater London, England, Great Britain, United Kingdom UK, Europe

UK wages see unexpected rise as unemployment rate holds steady at 4.4 per cent