The irony of freedom

 

There are two types of freedom: our own and the one conditioned by others. One is the one we manage, which depends strictly on our conscience and decisions. We can be imprisoned in a maximum-security cell but mentally free.

The other freedom does not depend on us. A Cuban dictator can shut down his country, or a macroeconomic decision, such as the tariff war waged by Donald Trump, can oppress our free will by putting us face to face to make pocketbook decisions for which we are not prepared or do not have adequate knowledge.

This duality of freedom confronts us with a constant paradox: we are masters of our inner world but vulnerable to the external forces that shape it. Our liberty, the mental strength in our conscience, allows us to resist oppression and find peace amid chaos. However, the freedom others give, that sphere of influence beyond our control, reminds us of our fragility. With unpredictable fluctuations and uncertainty, political, economic, and social systems limit our choices and condition our well-being.   

In my new novel, “Robots with Soul: Trapped Between Truth and Freedom” (forthcoming), I investigate and argue about this duality that machines do not suffer. Or rather, they did not suffer until God came up with the idea of endowing robots with souls and consciousness. From then on, what seemed like a gift became a condemnation: robots with souls must learn to embrace the irony of being free and chained simultaneously.