The Illusion of Free Will
Free will is an illusion. All human behavior can be traced back to cause and effect. Every feeling that you feel, every thought that you think and every action that you execute is a result of your brain chemistry and your brain chemistry is a product of your genes and external stimuli from your environment. Nature and nurture determine the physical properties of your brain, and the physics properties of your brain determine your actions.
If we knew everything or if we had ultimate knowledge of every sub-atomic particle in the universe, we could predict the future with complete accuracy. If you knew everything there was to know about an individual and their environment you would be able to manipulate them however you saw fit. Of course, then we would have to admit that life is meaningless and end everything or actively devolve into more ignorant beings.
We may not be in control of ourselves, but because we do not have the knowledge or information to map out the causes and effects that create our existence, we have not yet reached a point where we can have total control over each other. This has led us to accept that we are at the whim of the forces of the universe, so we treat our thoughts and actions as our own.
Our lack of ultimate understanding has led to the concept of free will in the same fashion that lack of basic scientific knowledge led to the development of religions thousands of years ago.
As we grow more intelligent and self-aware as a global community and our societies continue to evolve and disperse, we will continue to collect more and more information about each other. This pursuit of knowledge is driven by a myriad of different incentives; capitalist enterprises want monetary superiority, governments want to influence and control, scientists want societal and scientific progression and some only want to gain more knowledge for the sake of understanding the universe.
As civilians we become unwilling test subjects, constantly having personal information gathered from footprints we leave while acting as functioning members of society. What we buy and where we buy it, where we go, with whom we spend time. The majority of this information is collected legally or given by us. If you knew all there was to know about an individual and their environment you would be able to manipulate them however you saw fit. When you give out personal information, you contextualize your life for those who wish to exploit you. The information seems harmless, but little by little we pass the reigns to our minds from some cosmic entity we don’t understand to the hands of whoever has that information.
Nowhere is this concept more evident than in on the internet. We can’t possibly understand the intricate workings of our world so why not create a new one? Where we had to adapt to the reality that was the universe, on the internet, humans understand and control everything. The environment is controlled, now all that's needed is information on the individual. Everyone's data footprints are so much larger on the internet than in real life. Every keystroke, every web page, every download is recorded somewhere by someone. It just becomes a matter of who. It could be someone who values their organization's integrity, or it could be someone who would rather make money by selling your information to an advertiser. An advertiser who will then use that information to both influence you and cater to you, guiding your every purchase.
But no one's going to do anything; we’ll just continue to remain ignorant. Everything's just too convenient.