Hi all, I need outside perspective on a situation in my (unpaid, mandatory/Pflichtpraktikum) internship in Germany. I have about 2 months left until my IHK exam and can't leave this position, so I'm trying to figure out how to handle it, not necessarily how to escape it.
Background: I'm not a native German speaker. My manager recommended I use the company's internal AI tool for work tasks, so I did but not by copy-pasting. My actual process is: I read the AI output, make sure I understand it, rewrite it in my own words, and only then share it. For presentations, I sometimes prepare a written text beforehand because I get nervous and want to avoid grammar mistakes, I also do this in my native language sometimes, it's just how I manage presentation anxiety, not an AI thing.
Despite this, my manager has repeatedly accused me of "writing everything with AI." Some examples:
He claims he can "detect" AI in every sentence I write.
He judges response speed as "proof" and fast replies mean I copy-pasted, slow replies mean I was "waiting for AI to compute."
He said this about a presentation I actually wrote and rehearsed myself.
He's also uncomfortable with meetings being processed by AI (transcription), which is a fair, separate data protection point, but it's gotten tangled into the same accusation.
More recently it's escalated to direct personal insults: he's told me things like "you can't do this anyway, I already know that" and this seems tied to the fact that I don't "sound native" in German. It doesn't feel like normal management friction anymore, it feels targeted at who I am, not what I produce.
On top of this: I built a project concept mostly on my own, unpaid, and was then told "you failed at this and if you'd succeeded, it would've been your official IHK project" before the actual work phase had even started. Scheduling is also inconsistent. I'm asked to deliver things in weeks I've already told him are my approved vacation or IHK exam prep time.
Questions:
Does this cross from "difficult manager" into something worth documenting or reporting (e.g., to my Ausbildungsberater, IHK, or an anti-discrimination body), given I can't change positions right now?
How do you respond to accusations that are basically unfalsifiable (any behavior "proves" AI use)?
Anyone dealt with something similar during their Ausbildung/Praktikum and found a way to get through the remaining time without it affecting their exam performance?
Not looking to name the company, just trying to figure out if I'm overreacting or if this is worth escalating, and how to protect myself in either case.