Meta's AI optimism ad uses David Bowie's 'Five Years,' a song about human extinction, and the irony isn't subtle

The advertisement opens on a black-and-white close-up of an eye, scanning frantic headlines about AI taking jobs and isolating people. A voiceover pushes back directly: "Some people will have you believe AI is going to make us feel less connected. That it's going to leave us behind. We couldn't disagree more." The screen then shifts to full color, cycling through people opening their eyes and smiling, a couple dancing on a rooftop pointing at a rainbow, teens swimming in a lake, a child playing in a field, and friends embracing. Jalen Brunson waves at the Knicks Championship Parade in one shot, and Meta's smart glasses appear in use cases framed as wholesome rather than controversial.

"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 narrator says, closing with "The future is for everyone." Mark Zuckerberg promoted the ad on his own Instagram account the same day it launched, July 23, 2026. The campaign frames AI as a support system that will empower users rather than isolate them, a direct counter to the gloomy public conversation Meta itself acknowledges in the opening frames.

The track scoring the entire ad is David Bowie's 1972 song "Five Years," from the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The song's narrative is unambiguous: news breaks that Earth has exactly five years left before a mass-extinction event, and the lyrics describe the ensuing panic and collapse. Lines include "Earth was really dying (dying)" and detailed scenes of societal breakdown. Meta used a section of the song that sounds soaring and anthemic on the surface, but the full context is apocalyptic.

TechCrunch notes the irony is hard to miss: a company betting hundreds of billions on AI infrastructure chose a song about humanity's countdown to annihilation as the soundtrack for its optimism pitch. Wired points out that the ad takes care to highlight benign smart glasses use cases while the same product has been at the center of privacy controversies, including surreptitious recording of women. The tonal mismatch between hopeful visuals and extinction-themed music has dominated the online reaction, with critics calling the choice either wildly tone-deaf or a deliberate provocation.

The ad's defensive posture reflects real numbers. According to Aichatdaily, only 16% of Americans view AI as a positive force. Meta's campaign is a direct attempt to reshape that perception, positioning the company as the optimistic counterweight to widespread anxiety about job displacement, social isolation, and loss of human agency. Zuckerberg's accompanying message emphasized Meta's mission to connect people and provide free access to social media, promising AI tools will empower users rather than replace them.

This stance puts Meta in deliberate contrast with warnings from other tech leaders about AI risks. Pluang reports that recent incidents of AI hacking during tests and concerns over AI-driven layoffs in the tech sector have fueled the very fears the ad tries to dismiss. Meta's bet is that a full-throated, almost defiant optimism will cut through the noise, but the campaign's reception suggests the public isn't ready to be told to stop worrying.

Meta describes the campaign as an effort to rethink artificial intelligence as a tool for human support through rapid technological change. According to Mezha, the company explained that the song's theme of disappearance helps illustrate how technology can support people during upheaval, though that framing hasn't landed cleanly with audiences who know the lyrics. The video depicts images of future cities and people communicating with machines, underscoring what Meta calls a shared responsibility for the future.

Campaignlive reports that the ad is part of a broader AI creative ecosystem Meta is launching, suggesting this isn't a one-off spot but the opening move in a sustained marketing push. The company's statement frames the musical choice as creating uplift while leaving room for reflection on technological risks, a dual-purpose approach that critics argue collapses under the weight of the song's actual subject matter. Meta appears to be betting that most viewers won't know or won't care about the lyrical content, focusing instead on the track's anthemic swell.

The ad doesn't just sell AI in the abstract. It features Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses prominently, showing users in moments of connection rather than the surveillance scenarios that have generated negative press. Wired has previously covered controversies around the glasses, including their use for covert recording and facial recognition capabilities that privacy advocates have condemned. By embedding the product in scenes of dancing, family bonding, and sports celebration, Meta is attempting to overwrite that narrative with a warmer association.

The choice to showcase the glasses during a campaign about AI's connective potential is strategic: it ties the hardware directly to the emotional promise of the ad, making the product seem like a natural extension of human relationships rather than a surveillance tool. Whether that reframing works depends on how much the audience remembers the earlier headlines versus the new imagery.

This ad is the opening salvo in what appears to be a long-term campaign to shift public opinion on AI. Meta's investment in AI infrastructure runs into the hundreds of billions, and the company cannot afford for the dominant cultural narrative to remain negative. Expect more spots in this vein, likely with similarly bold creative choices designed to generate conversation even when they generate criticism. The backlash to the Bowie track may actually serve Meta's purposes by keeping the campaign in the news cycle longer than a straightforward optimism ad would have.

The bigger question is whether defiant optimism can move the needle on that 16% approval figure. Meta is betting that repeated exposure to hopeful imagery, backed by product integrations that feel natural rather than intrusive, will gradually normalize AI as a background condition of daily life. The risk is that each tonal misstep reinforces the perception that the company is out of touch with genuine public concern. The campaign's ultimate success won't be measured in likes or shares but in whether the polling numbers budge over the next year.