[Ads-l] Butlerian Jihad =?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=93_?=movement against artificial intelligence and robots

Wed Sep 16 15:59:01 UTC 2026

That sounds like a thoughtful policy, Jesse.
Here is a chronologically ordered sampling of xtweets mentioning
"Butlerian jihad".

https://x.com/adrahon/status/273123678902968320?s=20
Alex Drahon @adrahon
The worst time to buy a new laptop is right before the Butlerian jihad.
12:58 PM, Nov 26, 2012

https://x.com/lizhenry/status/439290036542918657?s=20
Liz Henry @lizhenry
There should be Feminists of Dune, where the Octavia Butlerian Jihad
fights with the Judith Butlerian Jihad #books
1:44 AM, Feb 28, 2014

https://x.com/cushbomb/status/808867447617028097
crisp mattman @cushbomb
We need a Butlerian Jihad against CGI in horror films.
9:53 PM, Dec 13, 2016

https://x.com/EvlJunglePrince/status/904829871372754944?s=20
EvilJunglePrince @EvlJunglePrince
The Butlerian Jihad began with a captcha box.
6:13 PM, Sep 4, 2017

Kelsey D. Atherton @AthertonKD
Everyone one of these superbowl commercials will be cited by Skynet in
the Reverse Butlerian Jihad
8:46 PM, Feb 3, 2019

https://x.com/fchollet/status/1779208287222997226
François Chollet @fchollet
The Butlerian Jihad will start the moment people genuinely feel
threatened by the machines. There's no risk of this happening with
this generation of skin-deep human-mimicry bots, but eventually, one
day, it will happen.
2:01 PM, Apr 13, 2024

https://x.com/ChazakielDoremi/status/1851233459345228040?s=20
Shahanshah of the Internet Age
@ChazakielDoremi
The Butlerian Jihad, which killed a 100 billion sentient beings and
locked the universe in a feudal-fascist hell with no possibility of
social movement and endless eugenics experiments and slavery, famously
presented as a Good Thing and not insane Trad Cope
8:03 AM, Oct 29, 2024

https://x.com/MajmudarAdam/status/2097125099082276986
adammaj @MajmudarAdam
the butlerian jihad used to read as a backwards neo-luddite movement.
now it is clear that it is 1 of maybe 3 viable paths forward. in some
sense it may be a part of every path forward. incredible how prescient
Herbert was. it does seem like there really might be a cap to how far
this technology should develop, at least relative to human cognition
itself (which may update over time).
8:49 PM, Sep 7, 2026

https://x.com/AverageAfroMan/status/2100146094197846238
shu @AverageAfroMan
If I see one more waymo on these london streets I’m gonna make the
butlerian jihad look like a fucking happy hour
4:53 AM, Sep 16, 2026

https://x.com/tszzl/status/2098842648094404738?s=20
roon @tszzl
the fastest way to lose the frontier will be when, due to the reckless
commercial pace of building superintelligent minds, Americans impose a
total butlerian jihad. CoreWeave includes this in their risk
reporting. you will soon come to see all of this is a moderate
solution
2:34 PM, Sep 12, 2026

Garson

On Wed, Sep 16, 2026 at 8:12 AM Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks for this, Garson. The general policy of HDSF (frequently violated) is not to include terms from a single book/universe, unless it is spread widely beyond it. So the far more "important" term from _Dune_, the word _spice_, is also not included in HDSF.
>
> But you're right to observe that _Butlerian Jihad_ has been increasingly often used in extended contexts, and it is now a reasonable candidate for entry. I'll think more about whether its time is now here.
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
>
> On Wed, Sep 16, 2026 at 06:11:03AM -0400, ADSGarson O'Toole wrote:
> > The term "Butlerian Jihad" from the novel Dune by Frank Hebert has been revived.
> >
> > [Begin xtweet info]
> > https://x.com/HeerJeet/status/1043654188536881153
> > Jeet Heer @HeerJeet
> > The idea of a Butlerian Jihad is fascinating. And something I think
> > could happen!
> > 8:12 PM, Sep 22, 2018
> > [End xtweet info]
> >
> > I did not see an entry for this term in the Historical Dictionary of
> > Science Fiction. It might be a helpful addition. The first match I
> > found appeared in the "Dune World" serialization in Analog magazine.
> >
> > Date: December 1963
> > Periodical: Analog - Science Fiction, Science Fact
> > Volume 72, Number 4
> > Serial Story: Dune World by Frank Herbert (Part 1 of 3)
> > Start Page 17, Quote Page 23
> > Publisher: Conde Nast Publications, New York
> > Database: Internet Archive
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > "A human is still the finest computer," she said, "the smallest for
> > its variability, portable and self-propelled, self-programming,
> > capable of performing more tasks simultaneously, cheapest to maintain
> > because it maintains itself ... I could go on at much greater length.
> > Have you studied also about the Butlerian Jihad, the Great Revolt?"
> > "I know why we destroyed the machines that think," he said. He could
> > not keep the sullen tone out of his voice, wondering: Why these
> > juvenile questions?
> > The Reverend Mother ignored his tone, said: "The Great Revolt took
> > away a crutch, forced human minds to develop. Almost immediately
> > afterward, schools were started to train these human talents."
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > Here is a definition from the first Dune novel.
> >
> > Date: 1965 Copyright
> > Book: Dune by Frank Herbert (Book Club Edition)
> > Section: Terminology of the Imperium
> > Quote Page xvii and xviii
> > Publisher: Chilton Book Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> > Database: Internet Archive
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > JIHAD, BUTLERIAN: (see also Great Revolt)—the crusade against
> > computers, thinking machines, and conscious robots begun in 201 B.G.
> > and concluded in 108 B.G. Its chief commandment remains in the O.C.
> > Bible as "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human
> > mind."
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > Garson
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org