President Joe Biden

On Wednesday night, President Joe Biden delivered his farewell address from the White House Oval Office. Biden touted his accomplishments as President, including rescuing the country from the deadly COVID pandemic and deep recession inherited from Donald Trump, turning the economy around, creating a record number of jobs, strengthening NATO, and, lowering prescription drug prices for millions of seniors. Biden also cited his experience of 50 years of public service to this country. Along those lines, Biden was able to announce that, through his administration’s hard work, Israel and Hamas are reaching a cease-fire agreement that includes the release of hostages.

However, President Biden warned Americans about “the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra wealthy people.” He called this concentration of wealth, power and influence “an oligarchy,” and stated that such oligarchy “threatens our entire democracy.” Biden pointed to the tech field in particular, stating that he feared “the rise of a tech industrial complex that can pose real dangers for our country as well,” especially when it comes to how Americans receive their information:

Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling…. Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit. We must hold the social platforms accountable to protect our children, our families, and our very democracy from the abuse of power. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology of our time…. Nothing offers more profound possibilities and risk for our economy, and our security, for society…. But unless safeguards are in place, AI could spawn new threats to our rights, to our way of life, to our privacy….