Freedom is not just a word

We’ve all asked ourselves this at least once: “How did older generations live without technology and AI?” A question often brought up by millennials to the younger generation and usually met with chuckles, shrugs, or sarcastic comments. It's rarely taken seriously, brushed off as irrelevant or outdated.

Why? Because being swept up by innovation has become the norm. Criticism from older generations about how blindly trends are followed is often seen as out of touch, yet their concerns aren’t entirely wrong.

Take a closer look: what was once normal is fading. Energy, discipline, focus, real social connection and something vital seems to have vanished since AI and technology took over.

But this is only the beginning. Like any story, there are four parts: the beginning, the middle, the almost-ending, and the true ending. Whether or not we reach that true ending depends on how aware we become of our actions. Many think they’ve realized something but it’s only a false sense of awareness.

A true ending, good or bad, only comes with real understanding and the choice to change.

Here's an example of a young adult named Jackson, a senior in high school about to graduate as Valedictorian. Impressive, isn’t it? Well only if he was taken seriously by his peers. Would you believe it if I said that 0% his work, essays, homework, and oral presentation were assisted by AI? Probably would laugh it off, not believe it, call him weird if you were one of his peers:

“Bro that’s insane what AI did you use? I have an essay due tomorrow about Pancreatic Cancer and I’m in deep shit” said Joe, his best-friend.

“You really except us to believe you did it all by yourself? Spending hours late at night on it while you have AI to do it for you? You really are funny” mocked one of his classmates.

Or you’d probably underestimate him, not wanting to believe a young boy like him was smart enough to not get swept, if you were one of his elders:

“Mhhh, that’s surprisingly good for someone like you, but come one we both know you didn’t do It by yourself, you probably had someone, or something to your aid” said his uncle laughing it off with the rest of his family.

It’s shocking and frankly concerning that we’ve reached a point where no one believes you haven’t used AI. Whether for school, work, or anything that requires real effort, the assumption is always the same: you let AI do it. Why think for hours when technology can think for you in seconds? Isn’t that alarming for the future? It seems most people haven’t taken a moment to reflect on how older generations lived without it, and surprisingly (or not), did just fine. In fact, better than today’s youth. So how did they manage? And how are some still managing now?

And what about Jackson? How come he didn’t get swept away like the rest?

…Oops. Spoke too soon.

Here he was sitting at his desk, with only his desk lamp on, fidgeting his way around restlessly looking tense- he had just finished up an essay due tomorrow and took a wise decision to submit it early- holding his iPhone staring blankly at it, his eye twitching with rage staring at an image his friend Joe texted him. Using his phone only for work purposes or to text Joe. Typical. And quite remarkable.

The picture depicted a former essay they had turned in a few weeks ago online and they all had just received the grade. Joe’s essay contained an A+ at the top, who shared the same grade as Jackson. Outstanding to both. Saying it like that most people would congratulate the two, complimenting them and their work and call it a day. All Without knowing that one used AI and the other pulled an all-nighter. Jackson had for sure all rights to be mad. “Man, you let yourself suffer while you could casually copy from AI and call it a day” affirmed Joe.

We can’t really be surprised.

AI doesn't just affect the people who use it, it impacts those who refuse to. Fair? Absolutely not. But that’s part of the game. AI doesn’t need to force anyone; it simply creates situations so unbalanced, so unfair, that the ones left out start questioning their own choices. It makes it seem like joining in was a personal decision and technically, it was. But can we really blame them?

Put yourself in Jackson’s place. How would you feel?

Angry. Helpless. Cheated. And worst of all, alone.

But what can you do when no one else seems to care? When the system rewards shortcuts and laughs at effort?

So, the only option left... is to give up. To stop wasting energy. To join in, not because you want to, but because you’re tired of losing. That’s the middle part of the story: the breaking point.

The moment where ideals start to slip. Where you sigh, give up, and blend in. Where you follow the crowd to avoid being criticized, isolated, or mocked.

You let yourself get pulled into a hole someone else dug… just to belong.

But here’s the catch: once you're in, you then realize how deep it was.

Climbing out suddenly feels impossible. But what if you had paused? Just for a moment.

Taken a step back. Questioned the situation before jumping in like a dumb sheep.

Let’s just say we could qualify Jackson as a soon to be dumb sheep.

Jackson’s voice cracked with frustration as he shot up from his chair, fists clenched and trembling. His face burned with anger. He had just found out that almost everyone in his year had used AI to write the essay which was worth 10% of their GPA. Jackson, on the other hand, had spent nights writing every word himself.

He tried complaining. He needed someone to hear him. But the principal only sighed and offered a tiring explanation:

“Lighten up a bit. Of course, using AI isn’t recommended and we did try to warn students, scaring them with talk of detection tools. But you know how it is… they always find a way around it somehow. We can’t keep fighting it forever. This is just how it works now. Eventually, it’ll catch up with them, especially during final exams, where no electronics are allowed. You should probably just let this go. Don’t trouble yourself. It’ll only make things worse. Try to accept it.” said the principal.

Accept it?

He tried speaking to his classmates too — looking for someone who shared his outrage. But they only laughed, brushing him off like he was overreacting. One even called him “the last honest caveman.” Jackson had followed the rules. But somehow, he was the one who felt like a fool.

It has gotten to a point where teenagers are frightened at the fact of having to use their own knowledge. Certainly, a lack of confidence and self-esteem. Another consequence of this creation. Everyone would rather use AI than ask for help or explanation from hardworking students. Like Jackson or take time with it. The latter is usually not picked.

He ended up having a breakdown. Understandable. It’s not easy to not fit in. To spend hours working and get the same grade as one who didn’t even spend more than 10 minutes. And after this…well as said, they give up. Which is what Jackson did. Fully transforming into that sheep.

He stared blankly at the essay he had just received. He’s gotten an A+ on his last one. Typical Jackson. But he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the one he was holding. A shocked expression has occurred in him. He’s gotten full marks on it. He’s used AI. For all of it. And it surely won’t end there. He stared up at the “Well done!” on top of his paper, then stared at Joe’s paper with a “A+ Well done! Hopefully AI wasn’t used this time”. Then something popped up inside him like a light bulb.

Being known as an intelligent, hard-working person will obviously find using AI beneficial for them. Teachers will tend to completely ditch the idea that their smartest student might have used AI. It won’t cross their mind. And that’s how those students will start using it to their advantage. Allowing themselves to get dragged, deeper, deeper, and deeper into the hole….

That’s another concerning point. We all tend to get to fixate on something or someone to intensely often to an unhealthy or overwhelming degree. It’s called obsession. Jackson didn’t have to pull all-nighters anymore. His teachers believed his work was phenomenally made by him, and only him. 5 essays later and 5 full marks later he concluded that it wasn’t the worst. Typically, what someone who lets themselves be influenced would say. It’s easy to fall into obsessions, but nobody really talks about the consequences of it…Anxiety, depression, loss of self-control, isolation…. They won’t be late to influence Jackson… Only his final exam and oral presentation were left.

He stared at his final exam paper…15 minutes have passed, and he hasn’t even passed the third question, he would have been halfway through by now, but he seemed to have spaced out. He doesn’t remember any of the material he had revised. Well, surprisingly he didn’t revise anything. He thought he didn’t need too; after receiving all his good grades on essays he spent less than 10 minutes on. He felt too full of himself. Usually when he writes his essays, he spends his time on them, so he doesn’t feel the need to revise for his upcoming exams. But he didn’t know this time it wouldn’t be the same. He was stuck…stuck in the hole without realizing it. Stuck in his almost-ending.

He was sweating, breath itchy. What is happening to me? He asked himself. Frustrated.

It’s been a few weeks since he took his test and here he is, barging into his room, throwing his backpack loudly onto his bed that it bounced right back off and landed on the floor with a loud bang. His hands gripping his hair tightly, knuckles turning white. Let’s just say the last two months he’s let go completely, following in with his peers by using AI did make him gain a lot of time as he didn’t have to worry a lot about spending half his days writing essays or revising his notes. Since he used AI’s notes to revise for his upcoming exams. His grades have been reduced by 45%.

Another important consequence with AI. After entering the obsession part, we tend to give our full trust and can’t seem to let go. After enduring AI for a while, we can’t lie and say every response given should be trusted. Which was what happened to Jackson, fully trusting AI’s information, revising them and applying them on his exam…ending up in a bad grade. Not all information given by any artificial intelligence should be 100% trusted. A way to toy with the emerging generation. Not having a fully developed brain at that age makes it easy to believe everything or not fully understand what we’re doing. As Eliezer Yudkowsky once said “By far the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is that people conclude to early that they understand it”

Let’s just say for a soon to be Valedictorian, always top of his class with remarkable grades, what had just occurred is like being stabbed 200 times in the stomach. Perhaps only scholars could understand that feeling.

The next few days were the same, overwhelmed by everything, not willing to leave his room, skipping a few classes. He just couldn’t concentrate. He had only his final presentation to prepare so forced himself out of bed, sat on his leather desk chair, making himself comfortable. Pulled his laptop and opened AI.

After what just occurred. Are humans really different than machines? What truly makes them different?

The machine waits. A command is given. And it acts.

The human waits. A command is given. It acts as well.

The machine doesn’t question. It follows its code, its programming, doesn’t pause or hesitates just simply execute. Humans too react, shaped by habits, expressions with the invisible weight of other people’s voices: parents, teachers, even on’s peers. Often, they obey without thinking because that’s what they’ve been taught to do.

One runs code it was given, the other follows rules made by society.

Both move, both preform, both obey. Blindly. Accepting control from someone or something. The machine, from codes they were given, fare force to run and do what it’s told. Humans, in this case with the new creation of AI, during the phase of obsession, let’s AI control the way they work, the way they organize themselves, the way they talk, the way they live. Not so different from machines in that case…

But here lies a quiet difference, not in what they do but what they could do. A machine cannot change or rewrite its code unless the order is given. Nor can they refuse a code. Only humans have the ability to do so. To refuse an order, to defend themselves, to say “NO”.

But until that moment comes, perhaps there’s little that truly separates them. Obedience after all makes mirrors of us all.

Here we are, the day of Jackson’s oral exam. Sitting in the waiting room in one of his best outfits. A black skin-tight turtleneck with matching black dress pants and a white leather belt. A few silver rings placed neatly on his fingers; ones he couldn’t stop toying with ever since he sat in his seat. Accompanied by a silver and navy watch. One that he couldn’t stop looking at since he arrived. His hair was neatly combed and pushed back. His dark circles were pretty much covered; he’d have to return the concealer to his mother before she finds out.

Physically he was ready. But mentally it was catastrophic. Lack of self-esteem. The thought of not being good enough. Feeling tired, tired, tired, tired, tired and tired. Barely knowing half of his notes, obviously because he wasn’t the one who had done them. If one were to ask him what his topic was about, he would freeze not knowing how to answer that. He went from a perfect student who could always answer questions to just hoping to be able to read out loud. And did I forget to mention he was tired?

His name was then suddenly called out and after a deep breath he stepped into the room.

“That concludes my presentation. I’ll be happy to answer any questions” exclaimed Jackson, ending his presentation. He exhaled; the damage was done. Mentally praying for no questions, but of course, that was the point of a presentation.

He wasn’t able to answer the first two questions. And now came the final one.

“So, to finish this off Mr. Burdkam, we’re curious to hear your point of view, to follow the theme you had to work on: In your opinion, do you think Artificial Intelligence is a reflection of human intelligence?”

And that was the break point he needed.

All these past few weeks swirled in his mind like a tornado. The stress, the fatigue, the weight of decisions that weren’t entirely his own. He thought about every time he’d obeyed orders without questioning them, every time he’d told himself, “This is just how things are.” Even if a few months ago he would have laughed at that.

He realized, then, that he had been running on something too — not code, but compliance. A system he didn’t design but followed all the same. Like a machine.

Was he going to for a bad ending or a good ending? For the first time in a long while, he looked up, not to answer, but to choose.

He cleared his throat.

“Everything that exists was created for a reason. Fire, electricity, the internet… and now Artificial Intelligence. AI was made to assist, simplify, and maybe even inspire. But somewhere along the way, we started using it to replace ourselves.

I used to think AI was just a tool, a menace to society. But lately, I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t just reflect our intelligence... it reflects our choices.

It mirrors our laziness when we hand it all our effort.

It mirrors our dependence when we stop trusting our own minds.

It mirrors our creativity — but only when we guide it with purpose.

The real danger isn't AI itself — it’s what we allow it to take from us. Our time. Our effort. Our thinking.

But above all… our freedom.

Because what’s more valuable than any knowledge, any grade, or any answer… is freedom.

And unlike machines, we have the ability to choose it. To say ‘no,’ to stop, to think, to take back control.

So yes — AI reflects human intelligence. But the true difference is that only we can decide who we want to be. Machines don’t get that choice. We do.

And I think I finally just made mine.”

He lets the silence settle. For the first time, he felt the weight lift — not because he said the perfect thing, but because he said the real thing. This wasn’t about the grade anymore.

This was about finally becoming free.

All this time, the deep hole he felt trapped in was merely just an illusion. It was never deep. He just never thought to look up. All it would’ve taken was one step — raise a leg, drag the other, and he’d be out. He was just to focused in following what his peers was doing than focusing on his goals and himself.

But now he knew better.

And more importantly—he chose better.

He made the choice. This was his true ending.

And we can all confirm — he chose a good one.

And maybe… his first real beginning.