The expression "tech–industrial complex" describes the relationship between a country's tech industry and its influence on the concentration of wealth, censorship or manipulation of

algorithms In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for per ...

to push an agenda, spread of

misinformation Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. Misinformation and disinformation are not interchangeable terms: misinformation can exist with or without specific malicious intent, whereas disinformation is distinct in that the information ...

and

disinformation Disinformation is misleading content deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic dece ...

via

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

and

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

, and

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...

. The expression is used to describe

Big Tech Big Tech, also referred to as the Tech Giants or Tech Titans, is a collective term for the largest and most influential technology companies in the world. The label draws a parallel to similar classifications in other industries, such as "Big Oi ...

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

, and the largest IT companies in the world. The term is related to the

military–industrial complex The expression military–industrial complex (MIC) describes the relationship between a country's military and the Arms industry, defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy. A driving fac ...

, and has been used to describe the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

and its adoption of AI-enabled weapons systems. The expression was popularized after a warning of the relationship's detrimental effects, in the farewell address of U.S. President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

on January 15, 2025.

Etymology

U.S. President Joe Biden used the term in his farewell address to the Nation on January 15, 2025:

Analysis

The term was first used in U.S. President Joe Biden's farewell address, and alluded to

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

's warning of the military–industrial complex and what ''Politico'' described as "echoing Roosevelt's language in calling out the 'robber barons' of a new dystopian Gilded Age". Since

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

purchased X, there's been widespread allegations that the social media company has been manipulating its

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of Rigour#Mathematics, mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algo ...

to promote right-wing content as well as suppress left-wing content. A Biden aide demurred when asked if Biden was referring to

, but said that the billionaire "was certainly an example of one". The comments came amidst large financial donations by tech leaders to Donald Trump's second presidential inauguration and for taking actions seen as deferential to the president-elect. It also came amidst surging stock prices of "

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay, credited to William Roberts, is a remake – in an Old West-style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself init ...

", seven tech companies whose combined value rose 46% in 2024, vastly beating the

S&P 500 The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 leading companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices and in ...

share index. Other tech leaders described as part of the tech–industrial complex included

Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms, of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling sharehold ...

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ; born January 12, 1964) is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and clou ...

Satya Nadella Satya Narayana Nadella (; born 19 August 1967) is an Indian-born American business executive who is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Microsoft, succeeding Steve Ballmer in 2014 as CEO and John W. Thompson in 2021 as chairman. B ...

Sundar Pichai Pichai Sundararajan (born June 10, 1972), better known as Sundar Pichai (pronounced: ), is an American business executive. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google. Pichai began his career as a mate ...

Shou Zi Chew Shou Zi Chew (; born 1 January 1983) is a Singaporean business executive who has been the chief executive officer (CEO) of TikTok, an online video platform owned by Chinese company ByteDance, since 2021. Early life and education Chew was born ...

Tim Cook Timothy Donald Cook (born November 1, 1960) is an American business executive who is the current chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Cook had previously been the company's chief operating officer under its co-founder Steve Jobs. Cook joined ...

, and

Vivek Ramaswamy Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy (born August 9, 1985) is an American entrepreneur and politician. He founded Roivant Sciences, a Biotechnology, biotech Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical company in 2014 and was its Chief executive officer, CEO ...

References

{{Joe Biden, state=collapsed 2025 neologisms Artificial intelligence Arms industry Communication of falsehoods Disinformation Distribution of wealth * Media manipulation Military economics Misinformation Social influence Social media Sociology of the Internet Technology in society Joe Biden Industrial complexes

Etymology

Analysis

See also

References