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We are entering a world where manipulation of the self can reach un-imagined intensity. Political manipulation (Hitler-Germany; Trump-USA) or commercial manipulation (advertising) is not new at all. But it was based on aggregate appeal and not based on detailed understanding of each individual. Big Data allows that understanding of each individual and can take manipulation to a new level where the notion of the individual itself (and certainly the liberal notion of free will) is profoundly called into question. The only defense to remain in control (if that is what we want) is to know yourself better than the algorithms know you. Meditation and observation of one’s own consciousness could be one path where individuals can retain control in a world that is not (yet) accessible to the algorithms: or consciousness. (reflections on 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari)