Hi all. I was just reading Dune: House Atreidies and noted the mention a ‘Robotic’ shuttle bringing young Leto from the guild ship to a location on IX. Its robotically piloted and has a voice that responds to Leto’s questions, albeit in a limited capacity. This seems to come dangerously close to defying the Agreements of ‘Thow shall not create a machine in the image of a man.’ How do you all read this? I was thinking that it may be just a matter of a very simple decision making system, like specific AI as apposed to General AI. Also, that it may be a case of the Spacer Guild getting alot of leeway, since its a pretty powerful entity. My question would be, how pervasive is this sort of thech in the general iniverse? Thoughts?
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There are many machines on IX …
I think that is the line somewhere in the movie, books, both?
IX has always been pushing the law in that matter and imho is fine on IX but not really anywhere else.
IX definitely (defiantly?) skirts the edge of the proscriptions on machines in the likeness of man.
I would say this is an IX issue rather than a Spacing Guild one. The Guild are very conservative in their thinking and actions so while they probably tolerate IX using machines like this, they wouldn’t use them themselves.
As to IX, it has a very hierarchical system with the elite and the workers who are very much looked down on (Which comes back to to bite them later on). I can see the elite using some form of autopilot with a basic audio input/output rather than rely on the workers. After all if it isn’t shaped like a man it’s fine, right? And the lawyers/priests can probably argue that it is just following a series of pre-programmed responses, not actually thinking.
The wider imperium has the view that labour is cheap, even skilled labour like a pilot. They are more likely to simply throw manpower at a problem than try to automate it. Slavery is still a thing after all and even those Houses which eschew slaves, still work in a feudal system where the serfs do what they are told.
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Both good points and thank you.
In the prequels, we find both House Richesse and the Tleilaxu are ignoring the Great Convention, but CHOAM and the Emperor are aware of Richesse. Which is part of why Richesse is allowed by the Imperium to fall to the Tleilaxu…