Dune is not anti-tech… | technology under capitalism

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Video edited by Elfo Editing

[CW]

When you talked about our data being used against us, i was so ready to hear a North VPD sponsor plug 😭😭

[alexkats]

Futurists have always been imagining the future in a way that always seems more humanistic, socialistic and environmentally friendly, but their ideas never go anywhere because corporations see no profits in that vision of the world. I remember as a kid I was into something called the Venus Project, which was a futurists idea of designing cities, self sustainable housing etc. Nothing came of it

[polares]

I'm a computer scientist who loves technology, but hates the way we made everything digital heroin.

I'm going to research next year the next step (although I don't think I can do much), thank God dune exists and it really opened my eyes.

[ericdere]

The most important command in the “Orange Catholic Bible” reads: “Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind”. It was imposed after the Butlerian Jihad.

[OccamsToyota]

People need to remember, the original Luddites weren't Primitivists, they were organized labor resistance.

[Thunderios]

You had me on edge for the whole video by building it up towards solarpunk but not mentioning it until the end. Bringing-forth is an excellent addition to solarpunk vocabulary! It goes for all modern technology that it should empower us by synergizing with our strengths rather than replacing us with lower quality items.

[rikugo]

This is so important! Even before big data, social media, and AI, the terms by which software and hardware were licensed and produced made our current technofeudal reality inevitable. Ownership of the means of production must go beyond the physical in the digital age, yet this is almost never discussed outside of certain tech subcultures. A wider public understanding of this is vital to our future.

[YH-vfpc]

This is one of my favorite videos you have ever uploaded Alice. This is a topic that no one is really talking about in my opinion, and when I try to bring up this topic it almost seems taboo. People are just too comfortable with where capitalism has led us to. It makes me so worried for the future but your suggested readings at the end give me hope.

[spiritualanarchist]

Frank Herbert wrote Dune in the 60thies. He said he realized he could not imagine how this new technology would develop . So he created a world that had banned computers .This made him able to ficus on the people without being bothered by computers. . Pretty smart thinking for someone in the 60thies.

[salma]

there's something about the ideas you pressent and the ways you construct your arguments that is so unique. Allof your videos surprise me with where they go- it's like a build up into an epiphany.

[josepheridu]

I find interesting how Medieval times are seen as "dark" when in fact it was just the expansion of Roman technology to be used in everyday life, which was vital for modernity to surge.
Technology does not grow only up, but also must grow sideways, by becoming of common use and making work easier.

[phangkuanhoong]

the problem was never tech per se, but for what purpose the tech was developed and deployed. Currently, every piece of tech's ultimate purpose is profit for the few, regardless of the tech's actual use-function.

[quinn]

This video feels so fortuitous! I'm preparing to defend my thesis tomorrow morning which discusses how the aesthetic of solarpunk acts as a creative alternative to the instances of ressentiment in environmental movements! Your videos have been an enormous influence on my work, and this one in particular has given me a lot to think about while I'm preparing! As always, I appreciate the insight and hard work that goes into each of your videos!

[pendragon]

I got a laugh once when I described the iron spear as "cutting edge technology" at its time. It's amazing what was once considered groundbreaking tech. Great video as always, Alice--hope you had a great Easter weekend! 🙂My oldest daughter is in France this week on a school trip and loving it.

[toi_techno]

Cool video
Herbert is kind of writing a (sci-)fantasy story set in the usual late medieval period (with some eco-vibes in a similar way to Tolkien) and makes it work with a few bits of sci-fi tech shoehorned into the setting to explain that lack of guns/blasters, how the armies travel between the start systems, the spice providing the magic and as you said the Butlerian Jihad explaining he lack of computers ( GOT is almost direct lift)

[TheRealSykx]

This reminds me of the saying that, "humans are a part of nature not apart from"

[ashleewright]

Great video, as always!

One thing that has stood out to me about technology under capitalism is that capitalism undermines the purpose of technology. A lot of technology is designed to make people's lives easier by reducing the amount of work needed to produce things, but under the profit motive of capitalism technology is used as an excuse to produce more, rather than a means of reducing people's workload.

Even in cases where automation of a workplace reduces the work needed from some people to zero, there's still the capitalistic expectation that they'll work elsewhere. Instead there should probably be more discussion on how sustainable a socioeconomic structure where people are expected to work to afford survival is, as it is in conflict with technology.

[ananya]

Scavengers Reign explores the idea of merging with nature as a path to peace pretty well while also contrasting the different perspectives of humanity.💚🍄

[misamima-nrck]

Loved the video! I've been looking for media (podcasts, video, articles) that use Dune to discuss philosophy, ideas, and themes beyond movie reviews since watching both parts this past weekend, so excellent timing 😁

[Dawhud]

The brilliance of saying in the future we don't have computers/AI/androids is allowed Herbert to make a sci fi novel without having to talk about tech. The author can focus on the characters and the story more than the gadgets and what they do.