Kerby Anderson
As I mentioned a week ago, President Joe Biden warned of the rise of oligarchs in one of his farewell speeches before leaving office. Apparently, the issue of oligarchs and Big Tech leaders is a theme that some in Congress plan to use this year.
Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Michael Bennet sent a letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. They criticized him for contributing to President Donald Trump’s inauguration fund. The Senators reminded him that, “Big Tech companies have come under increased scrutiny from federal regulators.” They expressed to him their concern “that your company and other Big Tech donors are using your massive contributions to the inaugural fund to cozy up to the incoming Trump administration.”
Sam Altman was quick to reply on X, “Funny, they never sent me one of these for contributing to Democrats.” He went on to explain that his “was a personal contribution as you state,” which is why he was “confused about the questions given that my company did not make a decision.”
Both points are relevant. He didn’t remember that any of his contributions to Joe Biden or Kamala Harris triggered such a letter. In fact, the editors of The Wall Street Journal reminded us that President Biden’s 2020 inaugural brought in $62 million. And the presidential campaign for Kamala Harris raised over $1 billion.
Second, he was making a personal contribution to the inauguration, and it had nothing to do with his company. Of course, the senators knew that but wanted to bully a Big Tech leader who has changed some of his giving habits.
When most of Big Tech lined up behind democrats, the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress were thrilled. Now that some are reconsidering their previous support, they are likely to get similar letters.

Kerby Anderson
What are the three hardest words in the English language? Perhaps you have heard that the three hardest words to say in the English language are: I love you. I have also heard some say that the three hardest words are: I was wrong.
Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner devote a chapter to this question in one of their books. They argue that the three hardest words are: I don’t know. They lament that this is the case because it is impossible to learn everything.
Apparently, our inability to say we don’t know starts at an early age. There is the classic study of British schoolchildren who were given a story and then asked four questions about the story. Two of the questions were unanswerable. There wasn’t any information given in the story. Nevertheless, three-fourths (76%) of the students answered these questions anyway.
It becomes ever more difficult to say you don’t know as you get older. Children expect their parents to know everything, at least until they get to be teenagers. Then their parents are considered very stupid.
Government leaders and recognized experts are not expected to say they don’t know. And we have lived through a pandemic and then a political season where many of our leaders should have merely said: I don’t know.
Instead, they were confident about the value of masks and vaccines. They were confident that inflation was under control. They were confident about their proposed solutions to everything from rising crime rates to rising global temperatures.
Often these were merely opinions. As Daniel Patrick Moynihan observed, “Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own facts.”
That is why we need some skepticism and biblical discernment, especially when the so-called experts make such confident statements and predictions. Sometimes the best answer is merely: I don’t know.