In final address, Biden warns of rise of tech industrial complex while outlining threats, challenges
President Biden, in his farewell address to the nation Wednesday, spent little time dwelling on the accomplishments of his single term in office, instead telling Americans he wanted to use his final address "to warn the country of some things that give me great concern."
Calling to mind President Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address, he warned of the dangers of the potential rise of a tech industrial complex to the U.S. He noted that the 34th president "spoke of the dangers of the military industrial complex," warning us of 'the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power.'"
"Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power," the president warned. "The free press is crumbling. Errors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit." And meanwhile, he added, "artificial intelligence is most consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time."
Mr. Biden also expanded on the critical role of democracy in the U.S., which he has said in the past motivated him to run for the presidency four years ago. He talked about respecting the institutions that govern a free society — the presidency, the Congress, the judiciary and a free press.
