Steve Gleason breaks creative boundaries for the ALS community with Adobe Firefly

Picture of the words “What if it Works” in cursive over a framed print of a digital, modern-style painting of a person looking at what appears to be two solar bodies. The person is a silhouette on the right in the foreground. On the left in the middle ground is a large planet. On the right in the background is the sun. The sun has a fiery yellow-orange ring, while everything else in the painting is in dark shades of blue.

Image source: Josh Brasted.

People in New Orleans will never forget the night of September 25, 2006. That night, Steve Gleason, safety for the New Orleans Saints, blocked a punt by the opposing Atlanta Falcons that was returned for the Saints’ first touchdown in their Superdome home since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. It was a moment of joy for a city in pain and an enduring symbol of Steve’s unshakable spirit — and may have also been the beginning of a rebirth for New Orleans, as recovery perhaps seemed possible for the first time since the disaster.

Five years later in 2011, Steve was tested in a much more profound way when he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and given less than five years to live. The devastating disease has since robbed Steve of his ability to move, speak, and breathe without assistance, but 13 years later, he’s still beating the odds and his resolve is as strong as ever. Today, Steve is a beacon of inspiration for the ALS community and the creative community alike. In 2020, he received the Congressional Gold Medal for his successes on the football field and as an ALS ambassador, and he continues to inspire a sense of possibility in everyone he meets.

“Until there is a cure for ALS, creativity powered by technology is the cure. The only limit is our collective imagination.”

-Steve Gleason, founder, Team Gleason

Building a “Resilient Spirit”

Team Gleason, the charity Steve founded with his wife, Michel Varisco Gleason, is on a mission to help people with ALS live purposeful lives. Currently, it is the single largest provider of technology and equipment for people living with ALS in America. Team Gleason provides technology that allows access to generative AI technologies like Adobe Firefly, Adobe’s family of generative AI models, which have made creative expression accessible to the ALS community in new ways.

Creativity has always been close to Steve’s heart. When he wasn’t playing football at the highest level, he was filling sketchbook after sketchbook with his beautiful graphite drawings. That part of his life seemed relegated to the past when Steve lost the use of his limbs, but artificial intelligence has now made the impossible possible again.

“Until there is a cure for ALS, creativity powered by technology is the cure. The only limit is our imagination,” says Steve.

The transformative power of generative AI was on full display this April at a special exhibition of Steve's work hosted by New Orleans creative collective, Nieux Society. Aptly named “Resilient Spirit,” the exhibition included seven pieces created by Steve that explore the contrast between dreams and waking life. To create the pieces, Steve combined the generative AI capabilities of Adobe Firefly with custom eye-tracking technology that turned his eye movements into text prompts, which in turn told Firefly what to create.

A realistic digital artwork of two worlds. In the upper half of the painting, a tree with sprawling branches stands against a stormy sky. The lower half exposes the tree’s roots extending into fiery depths. At the bottom are a quote “No tree can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell”, the words “Created by: Steve Gleason”, and the Adobe logo.
A digital painting of a silhouette of a person sitting and gazing into a large, circular portal showing a cosmic scene of stars and nebulae. The portal is set against an abstract background with streaks of red, orange, yellow, and blue paint. At the bottom are a quote “Feeling so small, but dissolving into the complete. My insignificance is the illusion.”, the words “Created by: Steve Gleason”, and the Adobe logo.
An abstract digital painting depicting a person standing with their arms down by their side in the middle of a river, with rocks in the foreground and the sun in the background. The sun is yellow with wavy red and orange rings around it. The rings fade blend into rings of different shades of blue in the sky and in the river. On the top right corner is a quote “Rivers flow not past, but through us, tingling, vibrating, exciting every cell and fiber in our bodies, making them sing and glide. - John Muir.” At the bottom are the words “Created by: Steve Gleason”, and the Adobe logo.
A digital artwork of the upper half of a person in the foreground looking at a star-filled, spiraling night sky. Warm colors near the mountain-lined horizon imply sunset or sunrise. At the top is a quote “Feeling so small, but dissolving into the complete. My insignificance is the illusion.” At the bottom are the words “Created by: Steve Gleason” and the Adobe logo.
Image with the words “Adobe Firefly + Team Gleason Making Generative AI Accessible for People Living with ALS ALS is a devastating disease that robs individuals of their ability to move, speak, and breathe. However, cognitive ability, hearing, sight, and creativity remain intact. Unfortunately, there is no cure for ALS, and living with the disease can be incredibly challenging and expensive. Our vision is to provide education and access to emerging Generative Art technologies, like Adobe Firefly, and in doing so help to unlock creative expression and inspire those affected by ALS and other disabling conditions.”

Images created by Steve Gleason using Adobe Firefly — Images source: Steve Gleason and Adobe.

The groundwork for "Resilient Spirit" was laid months in advance when Adam Wood, senior manager at Adobe, began working closely with Steve, guiding him through the nuances of Firefly. The initial meeting with Steve happened to coincide with the release of the Style Reference feature in Firefly, which enabled Steve’s hand-drawn sketches from his football days to be transformed while authentically reflecting his distinctive artistic style in the outputs. In later sessions, experiments were conducted using innovative Structure Reference capabilities in Firefly, which vividly brought Steve's original drawings to life in a way that was as captivating as it was unique.

A loose grid of one reference image and three AI generated images. The structure reference image is Steve’s original black and white drawing of a boat near a shore. Along the shore is a hill lined with trees. The AI generated images are colored, illustrated variations of the reference image. Above the image are the words “Adobe Firefly + Team Gleason”.
A loose grid of one reference image and three AI generated images. The structure reference image is Steve's original black and white drawing of two boats in the water; the boat on the left shows its port side, and the boat on the right shows its bow. The AI generated images are colored, illustrated variations of the reference image; one has psychedelic colors, one looks like a realistic painting, one resembles a photograph. Above the image are the words “Adobe Firefly + Team Gleason”.
A loose grid of one reference image and three AI generated images. The structure reference image is Steve's original black and white drawing of two people standing and one person sitting in butterfly pose with his arms up and out to his side, elbows bent, and palms facing upward. The AI generated images are illustrated variations of the reference image with different color palettes. Above the image are the words “Adobe Firefly + Team Gleason”.
A loose grid of one reference image and two screenshots of the Firefly UI with AI generated images. The structure reference image is Steve's original black and white drawing of a standing football player. The first screenshot shows four images generated with the prompt “a little creek in the forest at dawn” and reference image. The second screenshot shows four images generated with the prompt “an elephant mom and baby” and reference image. All generated images have the same hand drawn style and beige background color of the reference image. Above the image are the words “Adobe Firefly + Team Gleason”.

The creation of new images based on drawings from Steve Gleason using the Style Reference and Structure Reference capabilities in Adobe Firefly — Images source: Steve Gleason and Adobe.

Inspiring others to thrive

An outsider observing Steve’s devastating diagnosis might expect him to feel defeated. But that’s the last thing on his mind. In fact, when he declared there would be “No White Flags,” he issued a powerful battle cry as a commitment to live fully and joyfully, without compromise.

Steve’s commitment to helping people with ALS find purpose through art reflects that tenacity and sits in perfect alignment with Adobe’s goal of creativity for all. Adobe Firefly makes Adobe solutions more intuitive and approachable, ensuring that anyone can explore and nurture their creative potential.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqFTdjTLSXM

With so many questions swirling about the role of generative AI in society, organizations like Team Gleason remind us why solutions like Firefly are so valuable. They break down barriers. They empower more people to explore their creative potential. And most importantly, they allow us to connect in more purposeful and meaningful ways.

“Technology has helped people with ALS to express themselves through words, but Adobe Firefly does something even more powerful. It allows them to create works of beauty and find meaning. You really can’t ask for anything more,” says Michel.

“I may not be able to do things the same way I did before ALS, but life, communication, and creative expression are still possible,” adds Steve. “Our mission is to show that people like me cannot only live but thrive after this diagnosis.”

To learn more about Team Gleason click here. Ready to explore your creative potential with Adobe Firefly? Visit the webpage.

https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2024/04/25/for-dasha-wagner-experimentation-driving-force-creativity

https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2024/03/19/tobi-shinobi-remixes-art-whats-possible-adobe-firefly

https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2024/03/12/for-marina-williams-creativity-community-passion