Michael Schumacher’s family wins $200,000 lawsuit against AI-generated interview

The AI-generated interview of Michael Schumacher faced massive backlash when it was published in April 2023.

Michael Schumacher’s family wins $200,000 lawsuit against AI-generated interview

Michael Schumacher (Via: Imago)

Michael Schumacher is often regarded as the best driver in the history of motorsport. However, the German driver disappeared from the public eye after a tragic skiing incident in January of 2013. Schumacher’s family has kept details about the F1 legend private since. Now, the family has won a lawsuit over a fake interview of the seven-time world champion.

The magazine ‘Die Aktuelle’ published an interview which was claimed to be of Michael Schumacher, a decade after his life-changing accident. The magazine editor Ann Hoffmann was sacked after it was found that this interview was generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

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Michael Schumacher’s family launched a lawsuit against the publishers. The legal media arbitrator ruled that mere apologies given by Hoffmann and Die Aktuelle did not suffice. It was ordered that Schumacher’s family must be given $200,000 in compensation.

Michael Schumacher’s family yet to comment on lawsuit triumph

Michael Schumacher’s family has guarded the seven-time world champion ever since the incident. Only close friends have been allowed to even see Schumacher in the past decade. As such, it was essential for the family to set a precedent to prevent such a incident in the future.

Mick Schumacher (Via IMAGO)
Mick Schumacher (Via IMAGO)

Michael Schumacher’s wife Corinna Schumacher or even her kids have not made any statements after winning this lawsuit. The German family would’ve been relieved as it obtained justice from the legal process. The F1 legend’s son, Mick Schumacher is currently the Mercedes reserve driver in F1 while also competing in the World Endurance Championship with Alpine.

Certainly, this incident was a disrespectful action towards Michael Schumacher. With the ever-increasing influence of AI, the world must be vary of more such cases in the future. However, journalists need to understand that they cannot use such tools for their gains at the cost of a family’s privacy.

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