Meta’s AI Optimism Ad Sparks Debate Over Bowie Track Context
Meta’s latest campaign highlights artificial intelligence as a tool for connection, but critics argue the use of David Bowie’s “Five Years” ignores its dystopian origins.
Meta has launched a new advertising campaign on its official Instagram account, positioning artificial intelligence as a mechanism for enhancing human connection rather than diminishing it. The advertisement, published on Thursday morning, features imagery of a toddler playing with a butterfly, parents laughing with an infant, and New York Knicks player Jalen Brunson waving at a championship parade. The clip is set to a snippet of David Bowie’s 1972 track “Five Years,” which includes lyrics describing a world in turmoil.
The campaign explicitly aims to counter narratives regarding harassment and surreptitious recording by highlighting use cases for Meta’s smart glasses. A narrator in the ad states that artificial intelligence will not “make us less connected” or “leave us behind,” adding, “Call us optimists, call us dreamers, call us whatever the hell you want — but we’re betting on people, and we like those odds.” The specific lyrics utilised in the spot include lines about a brain hurting like a warehouse, while omitting the song’s opening verses which describe news of Earth’s impending death.
Meta spokesperson Francis Brennan defended the creative choice by citing a 1972 quote from Bowie, sourced via BowieBible.com and originally from NME Magazine. In the statement, Bowie expressed a wish to turn fear of the future into “a wave of optimism,” noting that people were “incredibly serious and scared of the future.” Brennan argued that this historical perspective supports Meta’s current messaging, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg also endorsed in a post about the ad, stating the company is focused on giving people tools to reach their full potential.
However, the campaign has drawn sharp criticism from experts who point to the song’s original context. “Five Years” depicts a dystopian scenario where Earth has five years left before dying, a fact underscored by drummer Mick Woodmansey’s 2018 recollection that Bowie was in tears while recording the vocals. Jeremy D. Larson, deputy director of Pitchfork, described the use of the track as “either really ignorant or really insidious,” arguing that framing human connection against the backdrop of an apocalypse is problematic.
Larson also described the use of Bowie’s work for artificial intelligence as “nonconsensual,” noting that Warner Chappell Music holds discretion over the licensing of Bowie’s catalog. The incident highlights a broader trend of technology firms utilising high-profile advertising to mitigate public anxiety, a strategy that carries significant reputational risk. Previous attempts by companies such as Anthropic, Google, and the now-defunct FTX to assuage fears about their technologies have faced similar scrutiny or followed corporate failures.
