The technology industry has a long and occasionally awkward tradition of responding to public anxiety about its products by releasing advertisements that could be described, charitably, as aspirational.

Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, added to that tradition on Thursday when Mark Zuckerberg, its chief executive, posted a 45-second film titled "The Future Is for Everyone." The video opens with screenshots of negative headlines about artificial intelligence before pivoting to footage of commuters walking and children playing — the visual vocabulary of corporate optimism that advertising agencies have been deploying since at least the Reagan administration.

"Some people will have you believe AI will make us less connected," a narrator says. "We couldn't disagree more."

The narrator, it turns out, is a Meta employee, and the film was produced internally by the company's creative teams rather than by an outside agency. The spot features creators who have built followings on Meta's platforms, including the tattoo artist Ruby Quilter and such cultural figures as Kylie Jenner and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks. (Whether Mr. Brunson's community-building extends to answering direct messages from disappointed fantasy basketball owners was not addressed.)

"Call us optimists. Call us dreamers," the narrator continues. "Call us whatever the hell you want, but we're betting on people."

The campaign will run across digital and traditional channels, including connected television, and Meta plans to extend the messaging over the coming months, according to a person with knowledge of the company's strategy.

The timing is notable. Meta's second-quarter earnings call is scheduled for July 29, where Mr. Zuckerberg faces pressure to demonstrate that the company's planned $135 billion investment in artificial intelligence through 2026 will produce returns commensurate with that figure.

In his caption accompanying the video, Mr. Zuckerberg wrote that he wants to "make sure the benefits of technology are distributed to everyone."

That is, of course, a sentiment. Whether it is also a plan remains to be seen.

Original story published in adweek.com: "Meta Pushes Back on AI Fears With an Optimistic Pitch"