Comment by Marha01

> Humanoids in the Culture are controlled at every level

Nope, they have considerable freedom, arguably greater than we have today. It's true that they cannot directly challenge the almost onmipotent Minds when it comes to stuff that matters to them, but Minds in Culture are an example of a very well-aligned AI, so it's almost always the case that going against a Mind's intent will just make the situation worse for everyone.