Are we really?

Or are we actually just a subsystem in the climate control system being driven around by a huge colony of bacteria?

An interesting quirk of human consciousness is we justify our decisions retroactively. It's how our minds work - most of what we do isn't chosen by our consciousness, it's snap decision making.

If you ask someone why they chose an apple instead of a banana at the cafeteria, they'll probably rationalize it as a decision they made "I prefer apples" or "just feeling an apple today" or maybe even "I'm trying to get my fiber up"

They probably didn't make that decision, their body did. Maybe their rationalization is true and in line with their previous thoughts - but they were talking to you, they probably didn't weigh that decision at all. The animal they run on chose the apple

But it goes deeper - do we ever choose anything? Think about doing something you have to work yourself up to - introducing yourself to someone attractive, public speaking, jumping off a high dive.

You sit there and convince your animal self to do it. You're not acting, then you are, because you've convinced the animal.

And the bacteria just might be in charge of the animal

We're basically language models used to coordinate between ourselves and coax the animal when it gets stuck