Sovereignty is the exercise of power over a territory and a population. Here, I am not discussing political ideology. I am defending the idea of Intellectual Sovereignty as the development of objective and personal knowledge. A necessary tool for free will.

It is the individual's ability to think autonomously and make decisions based on their own reasoning rather than adopting ideas imposed by others.

The simplification paradox

The interdependencies of our information systems and their integration into our daily lives suggest a dangerous pact. Faced with information overload, we are told that mental balance can only come from a blind trust in these systems and their intentions. In this context, Intellectual Sovereignty is gradually dispraised.

It goes against the "mental peace" offered by the simplification of the concepts that govern our technologies.

Has knowledge and its pursuit become superfluous?

We are bombarded with slogans and ultra-simplified messages that aim to obscure existing alternatives. This is a form of manipulation that consists of annihilating critical thinking by depriving it of all intelligence. If an idea takes more than 10 minutes of focus to be understood, it is deemed "too complex."

This leaves room for an intellectual laziness that favors belief over verification.

Sovereignty as a method

A sovereign is someone who is autonomous and independent. One is sovereign in one's own home for what needs to happen there.

Sovereignty is therefore a method. It is having the controls in hand.

The direction taken with these controls is a second step, but it can only be chosen if one has the controls in the first place. Intellectual Sovereignty is strongly linked to the notions of Privacy and Freedom. How can one make decisions that preserve one's interests if the information acquired is delegated to subjective, opaque sources?

Several behaviors illustrate the abandonment of this method:

  • Developing an argument solely on the basis of a briefly read headline.
  • Deciding that searching for a source is "too long."
  • Dismissing a statement as "too much of a hassle" to debate.

These behaviors signify the delegation of knowledge to the "stranger." This is abandoning pedagogy, verification, and objectivity. This is losing Intellectual Sovereignty.

Stupidity vs Intelligence

Intelligence is the ability to adapt, to choose means of action based on circumstances. It is the capacity to understand, reflect, and know in order to achieve one's goals when environments shift.

In other words, and in a more direct tone: if stupidity is addressed, one becomes stupid.

There are professionals of stupidity on television and social media. If one's intelligence is addressed, one becomes intelligent. This is not about being "elitist" or "thinking too hard." It is about refusing to stoop low.

I think it is terrible to staging obscure discourse and mediocrity as a form of "freedom."

The technical ignorance paradox

Recently, we can observe that everyone has an opinion on Facebook, WhatsApp, or their iPhone, but nobody knows what an IP address, a server, or the Cloud truly is. People don't know the mechanics, yet they are passionately for or against a digital passport.

I think we have the right to be for or against, provided we know what it's truly about.

That famous encrypted QR code... what is it? Understanding the "under the hood" reality is what I call "developing one's intelligence." Some are in denial, fleeing through negation to avoid facing the inevitable. Others think that diving into a subject is a waste of time. They believe that "common sense" is enough.

I think that believing is not knowing. Common sense is often the weakness that exploits cognitive biases.

Conclusion: Adapting or Abandoning

In the case of new technologies, they will come out of their boxes; we won't put them back in. We must think very clearly about the personal, professional, and social implications of these systems.

Understanding is a prerequisite for adapting.

For all these reasons, I am opposed to trivializing a risk because we don't understand its proportion. Refusing Intellectual Sovereignty is a form of abandoning free will. It is a managed dependency on a reality one no longer controls.