Michael Schumacher’s family are planning legal action against a magazine which published an artificial intelligence-generated ‘interview’ with the former Formula 1 driver.
Schumacher, a seven-time F1 champion, suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident in December 2013 and has not been seen in public since.
Die Aktuelle ran a picture of a smiling Schumacher, 54, on the front cover of its latest edition with a headline of “Michael Schumacher, the first interview”.
A strapline underneath reads “it sounded deceptively real”, and it emerges in the article that the supposed quotes had been produced by AI.
The family have confirmed to news agency Reuters that they are planning to pursue the matter legally.
Following his skiing accident, Schumacher was placed into an induced coma and was brought home in September 2014, with his medical condition since kept private by his family.
Schumacher’s son Mick used to drive for Haas in F1 and is currently a reserve driver for Mercedes.
In a 2021 Netflix documentary, Schumacher’s wife Corinna said: “We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable, and to simply make him feel our family, our bond.
“We’re trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does. And we are getting on with our lives.
“‘Private is private’, as he always said. It’s very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us, and now we are protecting Michael.”