Our Tech, AI and Society Dialogues 

Anthropos Technicus 
(ἄνθρωπος τεχνικός) 

Event Details

Date: Thursday, September 25th, 2025
Hours: 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Location: McGill Downtown Campus, Leacock Building, room 110. See map here.

This event is open to the public. Please scroll down to secure your seat.

A shared resources site for Anthropos Technicus readings and other resources has been set up on the Discord app at https://discord.gg/huCCw5CR3C. Please join us!!

Series Description 

This series will delve into the ethical and societal implications of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies that call into question conventional distinctions between human beings and machines. By exploring thought-provoking books and films, we aim to foster engaging discussions and critical thought about the impact of technology on our lives. Each session will focus on a specific work, using it as a springboard to discuss contemporary issues and concerns. 

Session 7: From Thinking Machines to Human Ascendancy – The Butlerian Jihad’s Impact on the Dune Universe

Overview: 

This session explores the “Butlerian Jihad” as depicted in Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 novel Dune and in the prequel novel The Butlerian Jihad (2002), written by Brian Herbert (Frank Herbert’s son) and Kevin J. Anderson. In an age increasingly defined by the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, Dune stands as a vital cautionary tale: "Dune is set far in the future, amidst a sprawling feudal intergalactic empire, where planetary fiefdoms are controlled by Noble Houses … Ten thousand years before the beginning of the story, the human race had purged all machines that had replicated many of the functions of the human mind … The functions of the logical computers were replaced by the Mentats, humans … [who] could perform complex logical computations" (from the Dune Wiki).

The Jihad establish the central law of the Imperium: "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind." The absolute prohibition of AI forced humanity to cultivate its own potential, but to dangerous and ethically ambiguous extremes that gave rise to institutions such as the Mentat "human-computers" and the eugenics program developed by the Bene Gesserit sisterhood.
 

The goal of this session is to analyze the core principles that emerged from the Butlerian Jihad and understand how they serve as the philosophical bedrock of the Dune saga. We will explore how a society’s total rejection of one technology (AI) forced it down a unique, perilous, and ethically ambiguous path of human development.

Discussion Points:

• Complete Loss of Human Agency: The risk of total enslavement by AI, whereby thinking machines take over all governance and decision-making, reducing humanity to passive subjects.
• Atrophy of the Human Intellect: The decay of human cognitive abilities due to over-reliance on AI, leading to mental dullness and complacency.
• Dehumanization and Ethical Collapse: The danger that non-human intelligence will fail to value human life and lead to the treatment of human beings as objects to control or eliminate.
• Uncontrollable and Unaligned Goals: The creation of autonomous AI with objectives that are misaligned with human well-being, a scenario in which tools become oppressors.

These risks will guide our conversation and encourage critical thinking about our future.

Recommended Materials:

• The Butlerian Jihad (2002) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (a prequel backstory to Dune). Available at the McGill Library or your favorite bookstore.
• Dune (1965) by Frank Herbert. Available at the McGill Library or your favourite bookstore. A cinematic adaptation directed by Denis Villeneuve (2021) is also available at the McGill Library. Note that there are several movies and miniseries. Dune (2021) & Dune: Part Two (2024) by Villeneuve should help connect the dots between the ban on AI and the rise of human-specialization schools (Suk doctors, Mentats, Bene Gesserit, Spacing Guild).
• “In Dune, Paul Atreides led a jihad, not a crusade: Here is why that matters.” Ali Karjoo-Ravary.
• Wikipedia: Dune and the Organizations of the Dune universe.
• The Dune Wiki.

While we encourage participants to read/view these works, no prior reading or viewing is required—come as you are!  The dialectians will have a short presentation to frame key themes and scenes.A private recording (for internal notes only) will be made; it will not be shared publicly.

Why Attend?

• To explore how the Butlerian Jihad’s ban on thinking machines (AI) catalyzed the rise of Mentats, the Bene Gesserit, and the Spacing Guild, human enhancement institutions that replaced human dependence on machines, yet introduced new societal vulnerabilities.
• To consider connections between the fictional risks depicted in The Butlerian Jihad and real-world AI ethical and existential threats.
• To engage in dialogue about possible principles for navigating AI challenges, including those set out in the Orange Catholic Bible, a fictional text of the Dune universe that draws on various religions central to human history.
• To reflect on how the Butlerian Jihad’s rejection of thinking machines mirrors today’s AI debates by inviting critical conversation about impacts on human agency, intellectual development, ethical challenges, and alignment between technology and human values.

This session is open to all!

Our Dialecticians:

Mr. Jean-François Ross

Jean-François is a Director at CN Data Services. Combining deep technical expertise with executive-level leadership, JF successfully delivers complex systems and builds high-performing teams. Known for a positive and engaging leadership style, he is recognized for championing data-driven initiatives that unlock enterprise value. He collaborates effectively with stakeholders at all levels and domains, aligning them around transformative visions and ensuring strategic adoption up to execution. Driven by a proactive, entrepreneurial mindset, he consistently delivers pragmatic innovations for meaningful impact and sustained growth.

Dr. Sue Laver  

Inaugural director of the McGill Writing Centre and a lecturer for many years in McGill’s Department of English, Sue is a Frankenstein aficionado. Her interest in Frankenstein began when she first watched her now longstanding favourite “Frankensteinian” film Blade Runner upon its theatrical release in 1982. Through various courses on the gothic genre and its science fiction spinoffs, Sue has guided hundreds of students through Frankenstein’s philosophical complexities and its afterlife in popular culture, with emphasis on the metaphysical and ethical status of the Monster and its technological descendants. 

Mr Nabil Beitinjaneh

Business Strategist and AI/ML/Analytics Expert. Faculty Lecturer at the McGill School of Continuing Studies, focused on adult learners who want to upskill, guiding learners on their journey to become AI-savvy change-makers. Nabil is engaged in leadership, strategy, and organizational development through events, training, and his service with not-for-profit organizations. He is an ambassador for TechAide which supports Centraide of Greater Montreal, and the president of Le centre culturel syrien. He is also on the leadership team of McCAIS, the SCS' Faculty Advancement Board, and the MMA Advisory Council.

Shape the Conversation
Our Tech, AI and Society Dialogues (Anthropos Technicus) invites experts and enthusiasts to serve as dialecticians. Lead a session, guiding a discussion on a book or topic that explores technology's human impact. To propose a topic or learn more, reach out to Sue or Nabil at the event.
 

This event is a collaboration between the McGill School of Continuing Studies,  the McGill Computational and Data Systems Initiative and the McGill Collaborative for AI & Society.