Meta launched a new AI optimism ad set to a song about human extinction
TechCrunch AI Amanda Silberling
Meta released an advertisement promoting AI optimism featuring happy scenes of human connection, set to David Bowie's "Five Years," a song about humanity learning it has five years left before extinction. The ad uses the song's repeated word "people" without context, but the preceding lyrics explicitly reference Earth dying and humanity having "five years left to cry in." The ironic choice underscores tech companies' broader struggle with tone-deaf AI messaging, as only 16% of Americans believe AI will have positive societal impact over the next two decades.
Why it matters
David Bowie's song "Five Years," which Meta used in a supposedly inspiring advertisement, is about humans learning that they have five years left to live before the apocalypse.
