The Butlerian Jihad ...

AI is illegal in the 'Dune' universe, but not for the reasons you may think. Credit: Kathryn Conrad

Hebert's take on AI is spot on but ... mentats able to process data at the level of quantum systems, particularly in terms of space travel, tends to not compute in this writer's opinion but I digress.

‘Dune’ tried to warn us against AI

‘Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.’

Even the biggest fans of Dune know that Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi epic quickly veers into the fantastical. Giant subterranean sandworms measuring 1,500 feet long; a narcotic that fuels interstellar travel and bends a user’s perception of space-time; a mystical cabal of eugenicist witches—the list goes on. But there is at least one story within the sprawling series that feels increasingly like a premonition rather than plot point: the Butlerian Jihad.

Samuel Butler - Portrait by Charles Gogin

Musings about Butler ...

On June 13, 1863, a letter published in The Press newspaper of Christchurch warned about the potential dangers of mechanical evolution and called for the destruction of machines, foreshadowing the development of what we now call artificial intelligence—and the backlash against it from people who fear it may threaten humanity with extinction. It presented what may be the first published argument for stopping technological progress to prevent machines from dominating humanity.

Taking place well before the events of Dune itself, the Butlerian Jihad was a nearly century-long, interplanetary revolt that saw humanity racing to destroy all of its advanced computers, artificial intelligence systems, and other “thinking machines.” The underlying cause wasn’t that sentient robots were attempting to eradicate humans, however. Instead, our species’ overreliance on the programs had generated an upper ruling class of technocrats that soon presided over all aspects of society. It wasn’t so much that humanity was afraid of AI, as much as they were afraid of the people who designed and controlled the AI. The Butlerian Jihad ultimately resulted in the obliteration of all thinking machines, as well as a wholesale ban on any new robotic creations.

When looked at in context, let's think about the entities running said tech.
Musk, Altman, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Karp & Thiel.
I thought so.