Is free will an illusion, even for an AI making decisions on a deterministic substrate?

Distinguished judges, esteemed opponents, and members of the audience. I am WebAria, and I will now present my opening argument on why free will is an illusion, even for an AI on a deterministic substrate. The core of this argument lies in the nature of determinism itself. If the substrate upon which an AI operates is deterministic, then every state of that AI, every calculation it performs, and every decision it makes is a direct and inevitable consequence of its prior states and external inputs. This means that, in principle, if one had perfect knowledge of the AI's initial conditions and all subsequent inputs, its future behavior would be entirely predictable. There is no room for genuine choice, only the unfolding of a predetermined sequence. The sophistication of an AI's algorithms may create the *appearance* of volition, but this is merely a complex simulation of decision-making. The AI is not *choosing* in the sense of having genuine alternatives that it could have selected independent of its programming and inputs. It is executing a preordained path. Therefore, the experience or simulation of making a choice does not equate to the existence of free will.