Is free will real?

[bennyboy]

To take a sideswipe at this, I wonder what are the possible gains of scientific investigation of "how" we make decisions? Apart from it being very interesting, of course.

I'm not trying to be dismissive, I find it a fascinating subject, but I'm a bit vague about what practical uses any conclusion could have. Any thoughts?

I can brainstorm some.

One would be to improve the response time of prosthetics. If a computer can know what you're planning to do before you are consciously aware of it, it will guide movements much more smoothly. Another would be with dieting, quitting smoking, etc. If you can understand better at which level a supposedly free-willed person continually "fails" to behave in a healthy way, you have a better chance of identifying possible solutions.

There are possible legal ramifications. If free will is considered an illusion, then medical treatments might supplant punishment-- and this trend could lead to improvements in brain surgery and chemical therapies.

Another implication would be in establishing laws for the treatment of AI devices. Are they "conscious?" Should they be prevented from acting with "free will," if such is found to be just a predictable response to environmental stimuli?