Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick draws negative responses from comic book industry insiders over his new Lumi Story AI.

Comic book Twitter and various other corners of the internet have been set ablaze with responses to the news that Kaepernick, who played six seasons of professional football as the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, has put more than $4 million into his generative AI media company, Lumi Story AI. While the announcement of a new creator-driven line or brand is usually hailed as a good thing for comics, the response to Lumi has been decidedly negative as a whole.

In a promotional video for Lumi, Kaepernick says, “When we think about where stories are coming from right now, we are missing so many perspectives and so many opportunities for connectivity throughout the world because there’s so many stories that aren’t being told. It’s a way that we relate to each other, understand each other, and it’s also a way that we understand what’s possible and what can be brought to life. Stories have changed my life a few different times.” Kaepernick references Roberto Clemente’s We’ll Never Forget You and the autobiography of civil rights leader Malcolm X as particularly poignant pieces that helped change his perspective of the world.

While Lumi Story AI is billed as a platform that “provides AI tools for creators to produce and distribute work,” the widespread pushback against generative AI from within most creative industries has not done it any favors so far. Multiple people have noted that Lumi currently offers an incentive program by which users can refer friends to the service to gain upgrades and perks, drawing comparisons between the platform and multilevel marketing companies or pyramid schemes.

Among those who have vocally opposed Lumi online are industry icons such as award-winning writer Gail Simone, acclaimed DC Comics scribe Tom Taylor, and 30 Days of Night co-creator Ben Templesmith. Taylor in particular called Kaepernick out for “depowering storytellers” and “promoting the theft of art,” the latter of which has been a major sticking point for detractors of generative AI, as such platforms and models are most often trained on works scraped from the internet without the permission of their respective creators. The subject of generative AI was one of the major issues at hand during the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes, during which featured and background actors had to fight to ensure the removal of clauses that would allow studios to permanently scan and own the likenesses of such performers, effectively ensuring an infinite supply of unpaid extras to be utilized for future projects.

Source: X