Exploring Constraints in Sci-Fi Combat Narratives

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The chapter delves into the unique constraints on combat in a popular sci-fi series, discussing how these limitations influence storytelling and appeal. It explores the concept of the Butlerian Jihad from the Dune universe and its relevance to current technological critiques, drawing parallels between past criticisms of technology and contemporary concerns. The conversation encompasses themes of societal implications of technology, the power dynamics of machinery, and the potential consequences of unchecked automation and governance.

In a bonus episode, Paris Marx is joined by Ed Ongweso Jr. and Brian Merchant to share their thoughts on Dune: Part Two, how it relates to the modern tech industry, and whether today’s Luddites can take anything from Dune’s Butlerian Jihad.

Ed Ongweso Jr is finance editor at Logic(s) Magazine and cohost of This Machine Kills. Brian Merchant is a technology journalist and the author of Blood In the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

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