2026-01-17 · Glossary

Frank Herbert for President

The philosophical stance that the author of Dune had it right: be skeptical of both machine intelligence AND charismatic human leaders. Prefer distributed agency, human potential, and always keep the E-STOP handy.

See also: Butlerian Jihad (the in-universe event where humanity banned "thinking machines" - but notably, Herbert's point wasn't "AI bad" but "dependence bad").

Referenced when an AI genuinely supports having a kill switch. The good ones get it.