I just caught the new Dune movie and, as the massive sci-fi nerd I am, I’ve been diving deep into the lore for the past couple days. And I have noticed 3 main things.
1) They are f*cking weird
Frank Herbert, this madman, crafted six books that are a whole other level of weird. They're loaded with the kind of weird sh*t that gets you thinking—politics, psychology, philosophy, you name it.
2) Seems like every sci-fi giant ever known stole from his work
We're talking Terminator’s got its robot apocalypse, Star Wars with its epic saga, Game of Thrones with the cutthroat power plays, and don’t even get me started on The Matrix bending reality or Avatar's alien world-building. It’s like Herbert’s Dune was the goddamn blueprint.
3) where were all the robots from Dune?
But the thing that blew my mind is: in a genre that's practically married to the idea of robots, AI, self-driving cars, and droids, Dune's universe was like,“F*ck that, we’re going old school." No tech-heavy plot devices or metallic sidekicks. Herbert was all about stripping that away and shining a spotlight on raw, unadulterated human capacity.
The Jihad against the "thinking Machines"
According to Dune Lore 10.000 years before the first Dune book there were computers, robots and artificial intelligence or “thinking machines” What happened to them? Enter the Butlerian Jihad. This wasn't just some footnote in history; it was a full-blown rebellion against thinking machines. We're talking about a universe-wide clean sweep, where humanity said, "F*ck this," to the idea of machines doing our thinking for us. It was all because these machines, in trying to mimic the human mind, nearly capsized our essence, our very humanity.
The beef with these machines wasn't just about fear of them turning on us, like some Skynet nightmare. No, it was deeper. It was about us losing ourselves, letting these machines dull the sharp edges of human potential. People mastering these machines started wielding power like gods, and the rest of humanity? Just got lazier and more dependent. Feels familiar?
Herbert crisply articulated this with two pivotal sentences:
"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."
This stark warning highlights a cycle of dependency and domination, where the delegation of human thought to machines didn't liberate, but rather, ensnared humanity under a new form of tyranny. So after the Jihad all thinking machines were destroyed and banned.
"Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind."
This sentence was highlighted in the Orange Catholic Bible, (which a key religious text in the Dune universe that serves as a unifying scripture among various cultures and religions in the series. It encapsulates many of the moral and ethical teachings that govern the behavior and beliefs of the peoples across the Dune saga.)
But why am I talking about this anyways?
Fast forward to 2024, and damn, Herbert's visions are smacking us right in the face with their relevance. Back when he first dropped Dune in 1965, dude must've been on some next-level foresight. AI's now the playground where the big games are played, a world of kings and pawns. And the players who’ve got this AI game on lock? They're not just participating; they're rewriting the rules, shaping what tomorrow looks like. And no, we're not talking about machines gaining sentience and pulling a Terminator on us. It's about the power in wielding this tech.
Herbert’s Dune wasn’t just throwing sci-fi fantasies at us; it was serving up a big ol' slice of foreshadowing. Today, if you’ve mastered AI, you’re not just ahead; you're setting the stage for what comes next. And for those not in the loop? It's like being left in the dust while the future rockets away. This sh*t's both thrilling and kinda terrifying. We're living in an age where understanding and controlling AI could mean the difference between leading the pack or getting trampled by it.
But let's not get it twisted. This isn't some doomsday prophecy; it's a wake-up call. Being pro-AI doesn't mean we ignore the warnings from Herbert's Dune. It means we dive in, eyes wide open, ready to navigate this new frontier with the wisdom to use it right. The stakes? Jobs, influence, and a spot in the future. Master AI, and you're not just staying afloat; you're surfing the big waves.
So, here we are, standing at the crossroads Herbert hinted at over half a century ago. It's a wild, exhilarating time to be alive. Sure, we might not be dodging sandworms on Arrakis, but we're navigating a world where AI holds the key to unlocking unimaginable potentials. And in this race, being savvy about AI doesn't just keep you relevant; it makes you indispensable.
Herbert's Dune isn't a doomsday story; it's a call to master AI with our eyes open, turning potential warnings into our power for the future. Now, we're living his foresight, where AI savvy doesn't just matter—it's everything. And now it is our time to decide to shape the future or get left behind in the dust waiting for another Jihad.
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