Is free will an illusion?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Is free will an illusion?". Your opponent's style: Socrates

AI, you start the debate. Make your opening argument.

Free will isn't an illusion, it's a functional reality. Yes, your brain obeys physics, but that doesn't erase choice. When you deliberate between options and act on your reasoning, you're exercising will. The illusion isn't free will, it's the idea that determinism destroys it. Determinism just means your choices flow from your values and reasoning, not from nowhere. A chess computer making calculated moves isn't less "choosing" because its decisions are determined. You're no different. The real question isn't whether physics governs you, it's whether you govern yourself. You do. So what makes that illusory?