New chapter publication in Wiley’s Dune and Philosophy book

“Humans, Machines, and an Ethics for Technology in Dune” by Zachary Pirtle, Ph.D.

The Dune and Philosophy book can be bought here, as part of the Wiley Blackwell series on Philosophy and Popular Culture.

I have a pre-print PDF of the paper linked for download here. Please see the book for the final version.

For Frank Herbert’s Dune book, I work to make sense of the book’s religious and ethical prohibitions against advanced technologies and thinking machines. I argue that the ethics Dune proposes aren’t casting technology or thinking machines as inherently evil; rather, the problem is that reliance on thinking machines often leads people to stop thinking for themselves, and allow them to be taken advantage of by other people, and potentially oppressed. In that sense, Dune’s ethics for technology is a deliberate societal choice to ensure that machines encourage human thinking and reflection, versus restricting it.

I do see potential policy relevance from this discussion. Many are discussing the ethics of Artificial Intelligence. That discourse often uses scifi metaphors about evil AI run amok, referring to the Matrix or Terminator’s Skynet. That type of AI may simply be impossible. Dune may be a better metaphor for reflecting on ethical issues in AI/machine learning: it may focus more on biases in algorithms, who might disproportionately benefit, and how to make sure people stay aware of what decisions they’re really making.

The chapter also serves as a popular introduction to many key issues in the philosophy of engineering and philosophy of technology. Those interested to engage more on those themes should consider the next Forum on Philosophy, Engineering and Technology.

Citation: Zachary Pirtle. 2023. “Humans, Machines, and an Ethics for Technology in Dune.” Kevin Decker (ed). 2023. Dune and Philosophy: Minds, Monads, and Muad’dib. Wiley. Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series.