Under German law, a knife can be a tool used to cut bread or, depending on its design and use, a weapon. The same principle applies to many technological advances. This is commonly described as dual-use technology.
The actions taken with a technology are ultimately determined by the individual using it. Freedom is valuable only when the individual who has it is capable of treating it as both a responsibility and a tool for expanding their capabilities as a human being.
For example:
In school, you can use the technological advance of LLMs either to cheat or to significantly reduce the feedback latency involved in the process of learning. One of these actions wastes your time; the other expands your capabilities as a human being.
Regulatory authorities often justify restrictions on technologies by arguing that individuals cannot always be expected to understand their risks or take sufficient responsibility for the consequences of their actions. This creates a recurring tension between technological freedom, individual responsibility, and institutional control.