Biden takes aim at ‘tech industrial complex’ in farewell speech

WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden warned on Jan 15 in his farewell address that an American oligarchy is taking shape in the United States among a few tech billionaires who have amassed a “dangerous concentration of power”.

Mr Biden warned Americans of a “tech industrial complex”, words that echoed former president Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell address in 1961.

Mr Eisenhower, closing out eight years as president, had warned of the dangers of a “military-industrial complex” gaining power in the US.

“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,” Mr Biden said from the Oval Office.

He did not mention names, but Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has amassed not just vast wealth but has

also become a powerful adviser to Donald Trump

, the Republican who will take over as president from Mr Biden on Jan 20.

Mr Musk, as well as Mr Jeff Bezos and Mr Mark Zuckerberg, the CEOs of Amazon and Meta Platforms respectively, will feature prominently at Trump’s swearing-in, sitting with the Republican’s Cabinet nominees and elected officials.

Also the owner of social media platform X,

Mr Musk spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump

win the November election, federal filings show, while other social media companies have donated heavily to Trump’s inauguration.

Mr Biden referred to Mr Eisenhower's speech in his 15-minute message.

“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,” Mr Biden said.

The stock value of seven of the biggest US tech companies has risen so much in recent years that one Wall Street analyst nicknamed them the “Magnificent Seven”.

The combined value of the group, which includes Apple, Tesla, Nvidia and Meta, has risen 46 per cent in the past year, far outperforming the rest of the benchmark S&P 500 share index.

Mr Biden also warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) and the need to ensure controls on what he called “the most 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.

Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instagram, recently

scrapped its US fact-checking programme

and reduced curbs on discussions around contentious topics such as immigration and gender identity, bowing to criticism from conservatives like Trump.

X, formerly called Twitter, had previously restricted content moderation on its platform after being purchased by Mr Musk.

Mr Eisenhower’s phrase “military-industrial complex” generally signifies mutually reinforcing interests between the armed forces and the for-profit companies that produce their weapons and provide services.

The term is also used to refer to ties with members of Congress crucial for political support for spending on weapons programmes and enhanced by political contributions. REUTERS