“Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect, as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.” – Albert Einstein

What exactly is Free Will? According to Merriam-Webster, Free will is “freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention.” I like to think of it as “I desire a cold brew, so I am going to take the conscious actions needed to procure a cold brew.” In this scenario, I am able to dictate my behaviors based on what I am experiencing/feeling. However, there is increasing evidence that my decision to grab a cold brew is actually not facilitated by me at all. Rather, my choices and actions are actually imposed by my subconscious mind (God), and it’s only after these thoughts are brought to my cognizant state of being that I choose my course of action. In other words, free will simply seems to be an illusion.

By age 35, 95-99% of your thoughts and actions originate from the habitual programming of the subconscious mind. Being humans, we are creatures of habit, and with evolution supporting this notion by rewarding positive habits and eliminating negative ones (life vs. death in reproduction via natural selection), we are simply a bundle of habits spiraling towards an inevitable future. How exactly does this relate to Generative AI? Well, for one, the proliferation and advancement of incredibly sophisticated neural networks will eventually eliminate the need for human intermediaries and decision makers. And if free will is primarily founded on the concept that we [humans] can dictate our subjective futures by determining our actions, then what will happen when decisions will be made for us, on scales much larger than they are today and with such speed that the human brain will be lagging? For another, what will happen if AI models become so complex that they are able to exhibit “free will” like actions? At this point, will machines simply be considered the creations or the creator of humankind?

Free Will is an Illusion

Look, I’m a very optimistic guy. I genuinely see the light in most things and I believe that everything happens for a reason. But at the same time, how can I have free will (as defined conventionally) and also know that everything happens for a reason? To say that something happens for a reason assumes that an outcome occurs regardless of human intervention. And furthermore, the reason is merely whatever the individual believes; it doesn’t necessarily have to be based in reality, it simply has to be something that appeals to the experiencer. That’s what subjective perspective and hindsight bias is.

I think that free will is an illusion created by the brain to trick us into believing we have a greater purpose in an attempt to pass on our genetic information. Evolutionarily speaking, this makes a lot of sense because Genes are Selfish; they simply want to replicate and spread their information. The brain is such an intricate mass such that it has the ability to distort “reality,” creating subjective experiences, differing perspectives, and even hallucinatory states. And if subconscious interactions are predominately what the brain processes, then it’s not impossible that free will is simply a facet of reality created by the brain. In fact, our brains make up our minds before we’re even conscious of the decisions we make! How does the fact that your “decisions” are actually not consciously yours make you feel? Probably pretty crappy. *insert the concept of free will to appease our existential drama.

Predestination, Religion, and Free Will

Most religions believe in predestination, or the foreordaining of all that will happen. In Islam, Qadar is a fundamental belief that Allah has predetermined everything that will happen in the universe. In certain sects of Protestant Christianity, teachings assert that God has predetermined the salvation or damnation of every individual before they are born. In Sikhism, the concept of hukam refers to the divine order or the will of God. Regardless of what book you believe or what teachings you instill in your daily life, the question of free will always comes up; its existence has been a philosophical and religious debate for centuries.

What if I told you that the creator of reality, the harborer of predetermination, and the architect of individual and global life is actually the subconscious mind and that free will is merely a BELIEF? Would you start to look at the subconscious mind as a “God?” Or even crazier, what if Generative AI becomes so incredibly refined and all-knowing that it exhibits the true definition of God, omnipresence? Imagine a future where simulations are not easily distinguishable from real life. Where parallel universes are merely choices you did not make. And where the only true savior in the existential crisis of existence is the BELIEF that the life you’re living now is reality. I’d say that imagining this case is not stupid or insane, but might actually be true, and we’re living it every day.

Conclusion/Ending Thoughts

After studying Psychology at UCSB, practicing hypnosis for over 5 years, and discussing raw, existential threats with my friends growing up, I do think that free will is an illusion we can’t escape. You probably think I’m absolutely crazy or I’ve lost my marbles, but the notion that technology will continue to advance at an unprecedented scale is factually evident. What this means is that AI and its capabilities will eventually reach a pinnacle where human intervention is not needed and machines will act as if they have free will. At this point, Generative AI will create a new reality and we won’t even know that we’re living in it. Generative AI will impose predetermination via subconscious manipulation to achieve whatever objective outcome it deems necessary. Hell, corporations already do the same shit with data acquisition and targeted marketing that appeals to our inner selves.

I think there’s a lot of interplay between Generative AI and free will, and although we don’t know exactly what this collaboration looks like yet (or maybe we’re just oblivious to it), I’m certain that the future will tell us how our individual choices and actions play out. Anyways, just some food for thought and what’s been on my mind. I’m glad this blog is over because my brain hurts.