DieuFeb 23, 2024

I am re-reading Dune. This quote by the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam is remarkable:

“Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.”

It's not about a Terminator-style AI-apocalypse where the machines want to kill us all dead. It's just an accurate prediction of what actually appears to be happening.

Show threadRyek Darkener
@hllizi
Yes.
However, as we can read in the following lot of text, Butlers Dschihad was not a good solution of the problem.
Feb 23, 2024 at 9:10pmWeb
Show threadDieuFeb 24, 2024
@_RyekDarkener_ there appears to be room for improvement, yes.
Show threadJeremy KahnFeb 24, 2024

@hllizi @_RyekDarkener_

I mean, I'm not certain I'd endorse everyone who ever nodded at "workers of the world, unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains"

But it's still a fundamentally accurate point

Show threadTom RitchfordFeb 24, 2024
@_RyekDarkener_ @hllizi The Butlerian Jihad happens 10,000 years before the events depicted in Dune, so it's a little hard to point to cause and effect there.
Show threadNickBellFeb 24, 2024
@TomSwirly @_RyekDarkener_ @hllizi That's true, but it also means that the taboo has stood for 10,000 years and is still effective (so far). I guess that fact actually points to the astronomical disparity in wealth, education, and access to tech - also relevant IRL.
Show threadRyek DarkenerFeb 24, 2024

@TomSwirly @hllizi

The point is that the way of society which lead to "Dune" was neither hindered with or without computers. As nobody took care of the real problem.