Schumacher’s chatbot-generated ‘interview’ leads to editor being fired

A journal editor learned the hard way about the ethical limitations of using generative AI after she was fired for conducting a “Interview” with the legend of motorsport “Formula 1” Michael Schumacher. using quotes that were actually from the chatbot.

Seven-time F1 world champion Schumacher has been out of the public eye since 2013, when he suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident while on holiday in France.

German tabloid magazine Die Aktuelle featured a recent front-page article with a photo of the former motorsport champion and the headline: “Michael Schumacher, first interview, world sensation” and a much smaller slogan that reads: “This sounds deceptively real.”

The article revealed that the quotes were generated using Character.ai, an artificial intelligence chatbot similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, which have attracted a lot of attention in recent months for their versatility and impressive ability to communicate in one human way.

In the “interview” with Die Aktuelle, Schumacher, or rather, a chatbot, spoke about his family life and health.

“My wife and kids have been a blessing to me and without them I wouldn’t have made it,” the chatbot said, speaking like Schumacher. “Naturally, they are also very sad about how it all happened.”

The Schumacher family intends to sue the publication, according to the BBC.

Funke’s magazine editor apologized for publishing the article.

“Funke apologizes to the Schumacher family for reporting on Michael Schumacher in the latest issue of Die Aktuelle,” the statement said.

“As a result of the publication of this article… Anne Hoffmann, editor-in-chief of Die Aktuelle, who has been in charge of the newspaper’s journalism since 2009, will be relieved of her duties as of today.

Bianca Pohlmann, CEO of Funke magazine, said in a statement: “This tasteless and misleading article should never have appeared. This is in no way up to the standards of journalism that we and our readers expect from a publisher like Funke.”

Character.ai, launched last September, lets you “chat” with celebrities, historical figures, fictional characters, or even those you’ve created.

It may be fine in the privacy of your own home, but going a step further and publishing an article based on chatbot responses is certainly a huge risk.

As generative AI continues to improve and enter our lives more and more, expect more bugs like this, though hopefully Die Aktuelle’s bug might make publishers think twice about how they use gen-generated content, a chatbot .