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My tl:dr answer is the appearance of free will exists, and that's as good as free will for relevant intents and purposes. I've heard people say consciousness is an illusion, and time is an illusion. My response to them is well then why tf do we have language to describe those concepts?

I know I'm driven by instinct. I know I can't float around the room by sheer force of will. I also know there are too many gaps in our understanding of quantum mechanics for anyone to begin crowing with any credibility that they KNOW all of existence is deterministic.

Interesting take. I always assumed it was a bit of both. Being both driven by instinct and also having a degree of free will.

Our choices are absolutely constrained, but even if your choice is between the blue jacket or the red jacket, it's still your choice to make. At least that's what I choose to believe. 😋

Good analogy, but I would counter that with this:

You technically don't actually choose between the red or blue jackets. Your personal preference for each color, plus your deeper psyche, past experiences and mood actually decide for you.

They influence your decision for sure, but you can still choose to ignore your initial impulse.

Choosing to ignore your impulse is an impulse too.
There's no way to prove that the idea you just got (i.e, choosing to ignore your initial impulse) is absolutely original (i.e, unpredictable).

It's called Determinism. The idea that all your actions are directed by past experiences and external factors, and so all your actions can be predicted perfectly if everything about you and your environment is known.

Yeah, but the appearance of choice is indistinguishable from actual freedom of choice. We have the appearance of agency. That's real enough to influence our thought and decision making processes.

Now I choose to eschew the infinite loop of "am I choosing to make this choice or am I predestined to choose what I think I'm choosing regardless of whether I think I'm choosing it or not" and go take a walk. Well, first I'll grab a snack. Then maybe listen to some tunes. Metal sounds good. No! Indie. I've got lots of options. One might even say I'm 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.

Is reality indistinguishable from the perception of reality? One day we might grow out of physical constraints and understand everything there is to know, only then can we be held completely accountable for our decisions.

Until then, anyone can argue that their crime was a result of everything that ever happened before and not solely their fault; we're spoiled for alibis.

Our perception of reality is like a really low resolution image taken of a subject moving quickly through fog outside of a barred window. Categorically stating most things with certainty is specious at best.

Framing the conversation in terms of whether or not we should believe in free will pretty much gives the game away. It's like flat earther's claiming to have chapters across the globe.

I do look forward to getting a glimpse into the multi-dimensional meta-verse our universe is nested in, for at least a moment, after I die. For now...I know! I'll ask a.i. what I should do next! :D

If by "free will" you mean the ability to choose what we want, then yes. I choose what I want all the time.