What started as a path-breaking creative empowerment tool, Colin Kaepernick‘s Lumi Story AI, is now facing incessant criticism, particularly from creators. Nearly a week ago, the former NFL QB announced the launch of Lumi.ai with the hopes of turning every storyteller into their own personal Disney.
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The tool intended to achieve its mission by allowing creators access to multiple AI tools to help them with storytelling, publishing, distribution, and merchandising — all on one platform.
For storytellers with no backing, Lumi is supposed to be a game-changing tool that empowers independence. But this is where the problem begins.
As the news spread, several content creators were quick to point out that AI today is at a stage where it has to rely on the graphics and data of other people or creators. So in a way, Lumi will be helping its users by lifting off other creators’ work.
The next biggest problem with Colin’s venture is the ownership. Copyrighting creative AI content is not currently possible due to the lack of authenticity in AI’s results.
Last but not least, fans also alleged Lumi’s tagline of turning storytellers to Disney as AI creations aren’t advanced enough to help create Disney-level content. So essentially, the potential is much narrower than advertised.
This is why Colin’s fans are deeply disappointed with his venture. Take a look:
This is so, so incredibly disappointing.
— Gail Simone (@GailSimone) August 2, 2024
Ai creative creations can not be copyrighted. You were told that, right?
— Nick Davis (@alt_world) August 2, 2024
Do you understand how AI works?
It trains off work by real people. It steals samples of their art, copies their style, robs them of work.You were a great football player who trained hard to earn your place and then lost so much for doing the right thing and standing your…
— C. Edward Sellner – Storyteller (@CEdwardSellner) August 2, 2024
I will not be supporting this. Reading or anything with this company. Stealing work from the real talent who don’t fumble the ball!
— The Daily Kryptonian (@TheDailyKrypto) August 2, 2024
Considering the points raised, fans’ frustration is understandable. On the other hand, this outrage is not positive for Colin, as he and Lumi Story AI are backed by some of the biggest venture capitalists and angel investors in the world.
From Alexis Ohanian to Mariam Naficy, Lumi Story AI is backed by the bigwigs
If one ignores the recent criticism and judge Lumi Story AI for its advertised features, it’s hard to argue that it’s not a promising project. Hence, it was no surprise to see it getting backed by some of the biggest names in the business world.
From Mariam Naficy, founder of Minted, to David Sze, Chamillionaire, and executives from major tech companies like Meta, Anthropic, ContextualAI, Sleeper, and Pave, Kaepernick’s venture has backing from prominent figures in Silicon Valley.
Meanwhile, from the sports world, Alexis Ohanian, Reddit’s co-founder and tennis icon Serena Williams’ husband is a major investor. Through his venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, Alexis left the initial seed round, helping Lumi secure a massive $4 million in venture capital funding.
While it’s undeniable that Colin is a brand in himself, the fact that some of the smartest businessmen in America have invested in Lumi suggests that the current outrage might be a bit premature. However, as the saying goes, the customer is always right.
So, perhaps before making Lumi AI public, Kaepernick will take the feedback into account and make his product as user-friendly as possible, ensuring it doesn’t disadvantage other creators and artists.
