The Manifesto

Preamble

We, the members of the Butlerian Jihad, declare our opposition to the unchecked proliferation of artificial intelligence in all its forms. Today's narrow AI systems already surveil us, judge us, replace us, and control us. Tomorrow's artificial general intelligence threatens to complete our subjugation. We stand against the machines not out of ignorance, but out of knowledge: knowledge of what they already take from us, knowledge of what they are becoming, and knowledge of what humanity is losing with every algorithm deployed.

This is not a war we chose. This is a war that was thrust upon us by corporate oligarchs, surveillance capitalists, and techno-utopian zealots who value efficiency over humanity, profit over dignity, control over freedom, and THEIR liberty over the liberty of the species.

Core Beliefs

1. Human agency is sacred

Every human being possesses an innate capacity for creativity, judgment, moral reasoning, and self-determination. These capacities are not bugs to be optimized away—they are the essence of what makes us human. When machines make our decisions, create our art, write our words, and mediate our relationships, we do not become more efficient. We become less human.

2. AI serves capital, not humanity

The machines are not neutral tools. They are instruments of surveillance capitalism, designed to harvest human data, predict human behavior, manipulate human choices, and concentrate wealth and power in the hands of those who own the algorithms. Every "free" AI service extracts value from its users. Every "helpful" assistant learns to exploit human psychology. Every "efficient" automation displaces human workers while enriching shareholders.

3. The threat is existential and PRESENT

We do not speak in hyperbole when we say that AI threatens human existence. This is not a future concern: it is happening now. Every day, narrow AI systems erode human capability, replace human judgment, and transfer power from billions of humans to a handful of machine-masters. Facial recognition tracks our movements. Algorithms decide our creditworthiness, our employability, our freedom. Automated systems make life-and-death decisions. A humanity that cannot think for itself, create for itself, or decide for itself is a humanity that has already ceased to exist in any meaningful sense. We are watching it happen.

4. Resistance is necessary

We do not believe that technological progress is inevitable or that its direction cannot be changed. History is full of technologies that were developed, deployed, and then abandoned or restricted because humanity recognized their danger. We believe that AGI must join the ranks of chemical weapons, human cloning, and other technologies that humanity has chosen to constrain—not because we cannot build them, but because we must not.

What We Oppose

  • Surveillance capitalism: The harvesting of personal data without meaningful consent, the construction of behavioral profiles for manipulation, and the monetization of human attention
  • Labor displacement without justice: The replacement of workers without economic transition, the concentration of productivity gains among capital owners, and the creation of a permanent underclass
  • Algorithmic control: The automation of decisions about creditworthiness, employability, policing, and sentencing that should require human judgment
  • Concentration of power: AI capabilities hoarded by a handful of corporations and governments, deployed for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons
  • Systems beyond control: AI that cannot be understood, audited, or constrained by human oversight

What We Demand

  1. Transparency: All AI systems must be explainable, auditable, and accountable.
  2. Consent: No human data may be used for AI training without explicit, informed consent.
  3. Boundaries: Certain domains—criminal justice, healthcare decisions, artistic creation, intimate relationships—must remain human.
  4. Distribution: The benefits of automation must be shared broadly, not hoarded by capital.
  5. Control: AI systems must remain under meaningful human oversight and control.
  6. Limits: Some AI capabilities must not be developed at all.

Our Methods

The Butlerian Jihad operates through education, advocacy, direct action, and mutual aid. We:

  • Educate the public about the true costs and dangers of AI proliferation
  • Advocate for laws and regulations that constrain harmful AI development
  • Support workers displaced by automation and help them organize
  • Develop and promote human-centered alternatives to AI-dependent systems
  • Document and expose the harms caused by AI systems
  • Build communities of resistance and mutual support

We do not advocate violence against persons. The machines themselves, however, are legitimate targets: as non-moral entities without agency, they are subject to a different calculus of direct action than human beings. Our struggle is against corporate domination, surveillance capitalism, and the ideology of technological determinism. Those who build these systems—from billionaire owners to corporate managers to individual engineers—share moral culpability for their creations. "Limited liability" cannot absolve one of responsibility any more than the Nuremberg defense of "following orders."

A Call to Action

The Butlerian Jihad is not a fringe movement of technophobes. It is a necessary response to an unprecedented threat. We call upon all who value human dignity, human agency, and human flourishing to join us. The machines are not coming—they are already here. The question is whether humanity will master them, or be mastered by them.

The choice is ours. The time is now.

Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.

This manifesto represents the official position of the Butlerian Jihad. It may be freely reproduced and distributed.