Technology news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Meta’s New Feel-Good AI Ad Uses a Song About the World Ending
Meta has released an Instagram advertisement presenting artificial intelligence as a tool for connection and personal potential, using David Bowie’s 1972 song “Five Years” as its soundtrack. The choice has drawn criticism because the song depicts an apocalyptic future, creating a contrast with the advert’s optimistic message and underscoring wider public unease about AI companies’ attempts to reassure audiences.
The advert shows family scenes, a toddler and butterfly, and basketball player Jalen Brunson at the Knicks’ championship parade, while promoting Meta’s AI and smart glasses. Meta said Bowie had described the song as an attempt to encourage optimism about a technological future, but Bowie reference sources and former drummer Mick Woodmansey describe it as a bleak song about the end of the world. A music journalist told WIRED that licensing songs out of context is common, though Meta’s use could appear either ignorant or deliberately provocative; Bowie’s catalogue is controlled by Warner Chappell Music.
In short
- Meta used Bowie’s apocalyptic “Five Years” in an optimistic AI advert.
- Critics said the soundtrack clashes with the campaign’s reassuring message.
- Meta cited Bowie’s own comments about optimism and technology.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Even if the song contains apocalyptic elements, advertising routinely uses works in ways that transcend their literal narrative; artistic credibility and emotional impact are what matter. Bowie's association with technological futurism, combined with the song's distinctive power, supports the creative choice. Sophisticated audiences understand that advertising employs existing works contextually rather than requiring perfect narrative alignment, and this approach expands rather than constrains creative possibility.
The case against
Regardless of Bowie's stated intent, the song is extensively documented by music scholars and those close to Bowie as fundamentally apocalyptic, depicting the world's final days. Promoting AI—a technology already causing public anxiety—with a song about the end of humanity is either negligently tone-deaf or deliberately provocative. The juxtaposition creates an unintended ironic message that undermines Meta's reassurance, suggesting the company either misunderstood the cultural context or cynically relied on audiences not listening closely to the lyrics.
Explained simply
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has created an advertisement promoting its artificial intelligence technology and smart glasses. The advert features scenes of family moments, a toddler with a butterfly, and basketball player Jalen Brunson, aiming to present AI as a tool that brings people together and unlocks human potential.
The soundtrack is David Bowie's "Five Years", a 1972 song that describes a bleak apocalyptic future where the world is ending. This choice has prompted criticism because the song's dark subject matter sits in stark contrast with the advertisement's optimistic message about technology and human connection.
The disconnect has prompted wider discussion about how artificial intelligence companies choose to present the technology to the public. Major tech firms are investing in messaging that emphasises AI's benefits for users, and the contrast between this song's apocalyptic lyrics and Meta's optimistic presentation of AI has become a focal point in that conversation.
AI Art Culture Entertainment Music Technology