AI news story
Meta’s New Feel-Good AI Ad Uses a Song About the World Ending
The clip features the David Bowie track “Five Years,” which includes lyrics such as “Earth was really dying (dying).”
Editor's take
Meta's latest advertisement employs David Bowie's "Five Years" to frame its AI advancements, suggesting a world on the brink of collapse that its technology can help salvage. This juxtaposition is striking: leveraging a song about existential dread to promote tools like Llama 3, ostensibly designed for positive societal impact.
The choice of music is significant. It taps into a prevalent public anxiety surrounding AI's potential downsides, from job displacement to existential risk, while simultaneously attempting to position Meta as a benevolent force offering solutions. This strategy aims to preempt criticism by acknowledging fear and then offering AI as the antidote, a tactic that could resonate with a public grappling with the rapid pace of AI development.
What bears watching is whether this aspirational framing can overcome the inherent skepticism towards Big Tech's AI promises, especially in light of past controversies. The long-term impact will depend on Meta's ability to deliver tangible, beneficial applications of its AI that demonstrably address the very "dying" world the advertisement evokes, rather than merely leveraging the sentiment for brand perception.