The digital world is no longer just a tool in our hands—it’s becoming an ecosystem that envelops us, influences us, and increasingly controls us. We like to think we have the power to choose, but the reality is that we operate within systems built by others, where our freedom is dictated by rules we didn’t write. Consider security: Google patched Android vulnerabilities exploited by Serbian authorities, once again showing that our devices are never truly under our control. Every day, we rely on technology without knowing who might exploit its weaknesses before they’re fixed. But this isn’t just about cybersecurity—it’s about power. Whoever controls vulnerabilities, who discovers them first, and who decides whether to fix or exploit them, holds the real digital power.
It’s no coincidence that the driving forces behind this technological revolution aren’t governments, but private companies. AI startups are valued in the billions, attracting enormous investments that underscore how strategic this technology is. But for whom? Not for the average user, who often has no idea how these systems even work. We are building a world where AIs generate information, decide what we see online, and influence politics, the economy, and our very perception of reality. Fake news, once spread by people with ulterior motives, can now be produced automatically and disseminated globally without any oversight. The real question isn’t whether artificial intelligence will change the world—it’s who will use it to their own advantage.
All of this brings us to regulation. On one hand, there are countries like the United Kingdom, which are proposing to loosen protections to spur technological development without too many constraints. On the other hand, places like France are leaning towards stricter laws that limit the use of encryption and VPNs in the name of security. In both cases, the result is the same: decisions are made without directly involving those who suffer the consequences. Privacy, security, access to information—everything is decided by big companies rather than institutions, leaving us to accept rules that either limit or expand our freedoms without ever asking for our input.
As these dynamics take hold, we’re already seeing the effects of an ultra-connected, digital world. Bitcoin jumps 20% after a statement from Trump, illustrating how increasingly intertwined politics and finance are with the digital realm. Apple continues to enhance Siri and launch new devices, making us ever more dependent on voice assistants and closed platforms that collect our data in increasingly sophisticated ways. Control over information becomes even more apparent when we learn that 56% of content related to the Oscars was blocked by overly restrictive ad filters—a sign that censorship now comes not from authoritarian governments, but from the algorithms that decide what we can and cannot see.
Then there’s the darker side, which shows that not all innovations lead to progress. Europol arrested 25 people for distributing AI-generated child pornography, proving that any technology can be used for good or evil. Technology is never neutral; it depends on whose hands it ends up in. And if control over information, security, finance, and privacy is increasingly slipping into the hands of a few companies and a few governments, the real question isn’t what the next innovation will be, but who will decide how we live. Because the greatest risk isn’t that the future will be technological—it’s that it will be decided without us.
