President Joe Biden used his farewell address to warn of the emergence of a “tech-industrial complex” in the US that threatens Americans’ “basic rights and freedoms,” in an echo of President Eisenhower’s famous farewell address in 1961.
“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that really threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedom and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” Biden said from the Oval Office.
Although Biden didn’t name any specific individuals, it’s clear that he was referring to Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, whose monetary and technological support has played an invaluable role in returning Donald Trump to the White House.
Musk spent over $250 million in support of Trump’s campaign.
President Biden directly referenced Eisenhower’s farewell address from 1961, in which he warned about the growing power of the “military-industrial complex.”
“Six decades later, I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex. It could pose real dangers for our country as well. Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power,” he said.
“The free press is crumbling. Pillars are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact checking.”
In the last week, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced that it was scrapping its fact-checking operations and would instead rely on a community-note system like the one introduced by Elon Musk after his purchase of Twitter. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also announced that his company would be rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusivity programs. Zuckerberg has visited Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on multiple occasions, as he attempts to gain the favour of the president-elect.
Biden also said that there must be strong controls on artificial intelligence, which he called “the mo consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time.”
“We must make sure AI is safe and trustworthy and good for all humankind. In the age of AI, it’s more important than ever that the people must govern and, as the land of liberty, America, not China, must lead the world in the development of AI,” he said.