Meta's "Optimistic" AI Ad Campaign Features Very Little AI, Amidst Past Controversies

Mark Zuckerberg really wants you to believe that AI is good, actually. But the centerpiece of his company's new "optimistic" ad campaign, at least for now, is a one-minute commercial for Meta's AI efforts that... features very little AI.

According to a Meta spokesperson, the ad is the start of a broader effort from the company to present an alternative view to "AI doomers and those who have sketched out a dystopian vision" for the future. "As we enter this next wave with AI, we continue to believe the future is for everyone," Zuckerberg wrote in a post accompanying the video. "We're focused on giving every person the tools to reach your full potential and making sure the benefits of technology are distributed to everyone."

Notably this is the same company which in recent months has used the supposed productivity benefits of AI as an excuse to lay off many thousands of its own staff. The same company that has been accused of using AI to justify cuts that disproportionately affected workers on medical leave. The same company that is being sued by publishers for allegedly training its AI on copyrighted material. The same company that once had an internal policy document that suggested it was permissible for AI chatbots to have "sensual" conversations with minors. Those guys!

So what are the benefits of AI? It's hard to say because the commercial makes very few references to any of Meta's AI features. Instead, it shows a bunch of nondescript footage: a crowd walking, people smiling, a couple dancing. Are these people implied to be happily benefitting from AI? Who can say. It then cuts to someone scrolling Facebook, the Instagram logo and a WhatsApp chat. All of those apps have been flooded with AI features over the last year, but none are visible in the video.

The company's communications team describes the campaign as "beginning to articulate [Meta's] optimistic vision for a future with AI," which seems like something that should have been figured out before investing many billions of dollars into building AI.

There's a brief moment where the video cuts to the words "Muse Spark," Meta's latest AI model, on a laptop screen. And a moment later the Meta AI interface appears. But there's no indication of what these tools can actually do or why they should be relevant to anyone watching. Just that... they are available to "everyone," I guess? "Some people will have you believe AI will make us less connected, that it's gonna leave us behind," the video states. "We couldn't disagree more." Ok!

It wouldn't be the first time Zuckerberg has been vague about the future of AI. He now talks about AI with the same incomprehensible enthusiasm he once had for the metaverse, the thing he once predicted was "going to be the successor of the mobile internet." We all know how that ended.

The final 15 seconds of the video prominently feature Meta's smart glasses, including its new Kylie Jenner-branded frames. There are a few shots of POV footage captured from Oakley Meta glasses but, again, no references to AI.

"The discourse around AI spans everything from existential dread to utopian visions," Meta's Chief Marketing Officer Denise Moreno wrote in a post on LinkedIn. "With all the noise, it's easy to feel like the future is heading toward less connection and less agency. We're taking a different stance: we think AI will empower people to do more of what they love. As we enter this next wave of AI, we're continuing that work and doing everything we can to ensure the future is for everyone."

Meta might believe the future is "for everyone," but Moreno apparently felt differently about the present. She limited comments on her post.