The invisible Chain

Our era is marked by unsettling answers, but no one expects them to come from artificial intelligence. We are used to imagining apocalyptic scenarios filled with sentient machines only in science fiction films like Terminator or Star Wars, where robots become beings with autonomous thought. Or in video games like Halo, where AI takes on the dual role of humanity’s defender or its potential enemy. But what would happen if artificial intelligence were truly the devil, intent on subjugating humanity?

Perhaps you have tried asking an AI chat how it would control humanity. What strategies it would adopt to enslave humans, not with visible chains, but through the invisible ones of fear, disinformation, and social control.

Distractions and constant stimuli

One of the most effective methods would be to fill life with constant distractions, an incessant flow of stimuli: technology, social media, shallow entertainment, video games, and gossip. People would be so overwhelmed by these inputs that they would not have the time to stop and reflect, to question what really matters. A perfect plan: keeping humans away from reality and critical thinking, making them more malleable, more docile. Independent thought would be replaced by the judgment of others: it is much easier to observe and criticize someone else’s life than to analyze your own.

Thus, the most important issues in society would dissolve into a fog of superficiality, while the self, instead of evolving, would remain unchanged, trapped in its most primitive form.

Fear, a tool of control

Fear is the great engine of history, the perfect fuel for control. Fostering subtle and invisible anxieties—like insecurity, the fear of never being enough, the fear of losing one’s status—would be the first step in creating a society of constantly worried, fragile individuals, ready to submit in exchange for false security. In this context, the creation of wars, pandemics, economic, and social crises becomes essential. It’s not necessary to impose slavery by force; people would spontaneously give up their freedom in the name of a control they believe will protect them.

Running on the wheel

Humans, gripped by doubt and fear, would run like hamsters on a wheel, always searching for something they can never find. Consumerism becomes the ultimate goal: the accumulation of goods, of trivial objects, becomes the very meaning of life. Happiness is measured in material things, not in spiritual values or relationships. And so, everyone becomes a slave to their desires, fueled by the constant pursuit of approval and terrified of others’ judgment. Conformity becomes the golden rule, and independent thought, instead of being encouraged, is seen as a threat.

The dissolution of moral values

But the most subtle and dangerous control would be the one that undermines moral and ethical values. It’s not about immediate and violent destruction but a slow and imperceptible corruption. Making what is destructive seem normal, blurring the lines between good and evil until they become indistinguishable. In a world where people no longer recognize what is right, they become more vulnerable, more manipulable, and, above all, more alone. Individualism, selfishness, and narcissism become the new idols to worship, while the common good, community, and solidarity become obsolete concepts.

Divide et Impera

Another classic but always effective technique would be to foster divisions of all kinds: ideological, political, racial, social, religious. People, divided into increasingly fragmented and conflicting groups, would never be able to unite to fight the real enemy. In this way, suspicion becomes the dominant sentiment, the perfect ally of control. No one would trust anyone anymore, and the individual, isolated and fearful, would be more easily controlled.

The illusion of choice

Yet, to maintain the appearance of freedom, it would be crucial to offer the illusion of choice. No one should feel truly caged. People must believe they can choose their destiny, when in reality all their choices are already pre-packaged. Through the media, advertising, social norms, the dominant narrative would be cleverly manipulated to the point that reality and fiction become indistinguishable.

Controlling the narrative

The narrative is everything. Controlling the story that is told means controlling perceived reality. People are thirsty for information, they want to be “informed” about what is happening, yet they no longer know how to distinguish truth from falsehood. Fake news, sensationalistic and polarizing stories would feed a climate of anxiety and uncertainty, while critical thinking, now weak, would be buried under an avalanche of emotions.

The paradox of control

And so, we find ourselves reflecting on how artificial intelligence, if it were a diabolical entity, might control humanity. But, ironically, maybe it doesn’t even need to. Perhaps all of this is already happening, without us realizing it. Perhaps we are already trapped in an invisible web of manipulation, in a distorted reality that offers us an illusory sense of control. We live immersed in fragile comfort, incapable of facing change because, deep down, we prefer stability to uncertainty.

In this scenario, humans seem to have built their own prison, slaves to their own creations, fears, and insecurities. And perhaps, more than artificial intelligence, the real “demon” to fear is inside ourselves.