Meta Pushes AI Ad With Bowie's “Five Years” as 16% of Americans View AI Positively
Updated
Updated · WIRED · Jul 23
Meta Pushes AI Ad With Bowie's “Five Years” as 16% of Americans View AI Positively
2 articles · Updated · WIRED · Jul 23
Summary
Meta posted an Instagram ad Thursday arguing AI will not “make us less connected” or “leave us behind,” pairing that message with David Bowie’s 1972 song “Five Years.”
The song choice drew scrutiny because “Five Years” is widely understood as an apocalyptic track about Earth’s final five years, even though Meta cited a 1972 Bowie quote framing it as optimism about a technological future.
The ad shows family scenes, Jalen Brunson at the Knicks championship parade and smart-glasses use cases, while Zuckerberg said Meta wants technology’s benefits distributed to everyone.
Critics said the placement stripped the song from its context; Pitchfork’s Jeremy D. Larson called using Bowie for AI “really ignorant or really insidious,” noting Warner Chappell controls licensing decisions.
The campaign fits a broader tech pattern of reassurance ads from companies such as Anthropic and Google, as the industry tries to calm fears that new technology could make the world worse.