“We are all just prisoners here of our own device”

Freedom, Convenience, and the Digital Cage

By Andrew Crowley, Rock The Vote NZ Party Leader

In a line immortalized by the Eagles in Hotel California, the phrase “We are all just prisoners here of our own device” sings like a confession wrapped in melody. Taken literally, it’s about being trapped by the very tools we’ve created. In today’s world, this lyric couldn’t feel more prophetic—especially when we examine the rise of Digital IDs and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

The Promise of Precision

Digital IDs offer seamless access to services—banking, healthcare, voting—with the wave of a screen. CBDCs, powered by national banks, promise faster transactions, reduced fraud, and financial inclusion. Together, they signal a leap forward into an efficient digital age.

But this convenience carries a hidden cost: data centralization and potential loss of personal autonomy.

Devices of Our Own Making

Unlike cash, which offers anonymity and independence, CBDCs are programmable. This means spending limits, restrictions on purchases, or expiration dates could technically be coded into currency. Paired with a unified Digital ID system, the potential for surveillance—or “nudge-based governance”—becomes very real.

It’s not just a sci-fi worry. Critics argue that such systems, if unchecked, could slide from utility to techno-authoritarian control, where algorithms—not people—determine eligibility and access.

A New Social Contract

This isn’t a call to reject innovation, but a reminder: tools should serve us, not own us. The real challenge lies in ensuring democratic oversight, transparency, and informed consent in how these technologies unfold.

Because if we’re not careful, we may wake up in a digital Hotel California of our own making—where we can log out any time we like, but we can never truly leave.