Meta Touts AI Optimism With Bowie’s Apocalyptic ‘Five Years’

Meta Platforms is betting hundreds of billions of dollars on artificial intelligence while seeking to shape a more positive public narrative around the technology. The campaign arrives as concerns mount that AI could eliminate jobs, deepen social isolation and create broader societal risks. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that only 16% of Americans expect AI to have a positive impact on society over the next 20 years, while 40% anticipate a negative effect.

Meta released the advertisement on July 23, 2026, opening with black-and-white images of alarming AI headlines before shifting to colorful scenes of friends, families and couples. The voiceover declares that “the future is for everyone.” The upbeat message, however, is set to David Bowie’s 1972 song “Five Years,” which depicts humanity learning that Earth has only five years left before extinction. That contrast drew attention to an unusually ominous soundtrack for a campaign designed to promote confidence in AI.