Bryan Appleyard ,The Singularity And The Butlerian Jihad

Frank Herbert originally began publishing Dune in the monthly science fiction magazine Analog( formerly Astounding Science Fiction ) between 1963 and 1965.This was at the height of the Cold War .His book is very prescient in that it bypasses the Cold War issues of the time and deals with a far future whose culture is religious and mystical  in contrast to the technocratic scientific materialism of the early 1960s.Like all the best science fiction it addresses the big issues of  humanity without being dated in any way.The Butlerian Jihad is one of those clever tropes that Frank Herbert threw into the mix to establish the basis for his future civilization.A true polymath he knew that AI would prevent the type of religious feudal empire he was depicting in his upmarket space opera.