The most captivating phenomenon in the world that you can’t ignore: An overlooked danger to our free will

The Hidden Threat to Our Free Will: An Underestimated Crisis in the Digital Age

In conversations about artificial intelligence, the focus often centers on sensational scenarios: autonomous killer robots, apocalyptic machine takeovers, or dystopian simulations. These dramatic images paint a picture of sudden, loud, and overt conflicts—fears of machines enslaving humanity in virtual worlds or controlling our every move.

However, the most profound danger isn’t a sudden catastrophe. Instead, it’s a subtle, persistent trend that threatens the very foundation of our autonomy: the erosion of our attention.

Our worldview—the way we perceive ourselves and the world—is essentially a mosaic of all the information our brains have absorbed through our senses over a lifetime. It encompasses our language, our trust in others, our ideological beliefs. When you pause to reflect, it becomes evident how much of our perspective is shaped by external input.

This process is innate to all animals with brains—learning from experience is their primary means of survival. Unlike genetic evolution, which unfolds over generations, humans possess an extraordinary ability: we can transmit complex ideas through symbols, language, stories, and written words. This capability is arguably our greatest strength—and also our most vulnerable point.

Symbolic communication forms the backbone of civilization. It allows us to exchange ideas, share knowledge, and build cultures. In essence, nearly everything that makes us human derives from our mastery of symbols.

Yet, the history of this symbolic transmission is quite recent. Humans only devised writing around 5,000 years ago, and for much of that period, literacy was limited to a privileged few. During those eras, worldview formation relied primarily on direct experience, with literacy shaping only a small segment of society.

The advent of television was the next significant leap. It introduced a new form of symbolic communication that didn’t require reading—an easily accessible way to shape perceptions. In a sense, the influence of symbols on our worldview skyrocketed from a tiny percentage to around 10%.

I was born in 1987, in a time when most homes had a single TV, seldom used unless chosen. Often, I wasn’t even interested in what was on. This stands in stark contrast to today’s digital landscape.

Now, screens are ubiquitous. We’re immersed in digital content virtually every moment, and sophisticated algorithms personalize what we see. Imagine a world where algorithms understand you better than you understand yourself—where a significant portion of our worldview is formed by these unseen forces rather than direct experience.

This