** Spoiler Alert for Dune books 7 and 8
The books Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell rightly deserve their flowers for eerily predicting aspects of society in 2026.
There is another book that I think deserves more attention for what it foresaw that are just now coming to fruition.
Frank Herbert wrote Dune in 1965. He went on to write and publish the original 6 Dune novels through 1985 until his death in 1986. Seemingly ending his magnificent Dune series before it could be concluded.
That is until his son Brian found Frank’s transcripts, notes, and outlines for the conclusion of one of the greatest science fiction series in history. The story is actually fascinating. Ten years after his father died, Brian received a call from his father’s estate attorney stating they found two forgotten safety deposit boxes. These boxes contained information about the conclusion of Dune. Motivated by this, Brian started searching his property and found another box of Dune notes.
There were 6 original Dune books written by Frank. It was 2 decades before fans would receive the grand conclusion to the series, written by Frank’s son using his original notes.
This timing makes the finale to Dune, found in those outlines and notes, all the more fascinating. Frank Herbert formed the thoughts behind Dune’s conclusion no later than 1985 and likely much earlier.
This is where the spoiler part comes in. If you intend to read the final 2 books in the Dune series, books 7 (Hunters of Dune) and 8 (Sandworms of Dune), this is a major spoiler.
Last chance.
The revelation really comes at the end of book 7.
The grand, unknown, unstoppable enemy of the universe, coming to destroy all humans – is artificial intelligence.
It was right in front of the reader the whole series. There are illusions to a prequel-esq war between humans and machines. It is constantly alluded to. But we never get much information about it. We know a woman named Serena Butler was integral to the war against machines. That’s about all we know.
I found this fascinating, given what’s happening now. In an age when computers were just becoming a thing, well before the movie Terminator ever hit theatres, Frank Herbert imagined a battle between man and machine. Right at the dawn of real-world computing, Frank alluded to the Butlerian Jihad, a battle against “thinking machines” that shaped the Dune universe.
Artificial intelligence hadn’t been a factor really at all throughout 7 books. So when it was revealed AI was the great enemy of the universe, I got goosebumps reading that in 2025.
An interesting part about the artificial intelligence in the Dune books is that before the reveal in book 7, the biggest threat of artificial intelligence hadn’t been the machines themselves. The biggest threat to humanity had been their self-reliance on machines. Humans had started to lose their problem solving and independent abilities because they handed everything over to machines. Humans were heading towards losing their agency to machines.
Sound familiar?
This is what we see happening to humans today. High schoolers can’t write – essays, letters, or coherent messages. Humans don’t read books anymore. They watch short form videos that melt their brains. I’ve experienced this a little with my work. Why think through a problem when I can plug it into AI and ask the computer – how do I fix this?
I feel myself losing problem-solving skills as I rely more and more on artificial intelligence.
There are many scary parts to what is happening with technology at this moment in history. The scariest thing might be the lethargy falling upon us all.
In the Dune universe they evolved because they intentionally removed machines as crutches and made themselves smarter, more advanced, better. What are we losing as a people when we turn over thinking to machines?
This is where the adage “man shall not be replaced” comes from.
In the Dune universe they made a conscious decision note to be replaced. What decision will we make? What decision are we making every day with our actions? Was Frank Herbert warning us?
Ultimately, in the books humanity had to learn to live alongside technology. Humanity didn’t need to destroy technology. Technology didn’t need to destroy humanity. Humans needed to use their humanity to make sure they progressed alongside technology. Humans can’t stop improving. Humans need to always be improving, just as technology will always be improving. Humans shouldn’t be replaced.
The ultimate safeguard for humanity’s future isn’t a total ban on thinking machines, but rather ensuring that our human ethics, consciousness, and spirit remain deeply embedded at the core of the digital networks we create. This was Frank Herbert’s prophetic message to us. This should be our goal with technology.
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