Dune 2 debuted this past weekend, pulling in a staggering $81.5 million domestically with another $93 million from international showings. The sequel to 2021’s Dune benefitted greatly from the trend of seeing blockbuster films in IMAX and other premium large formats (PLF), with those pricier tickets comprising an estimated 48 percent of the movie’s domestic sales.

But while the amazing optics, action, and settings make the film a joy to watch, the story is what carries the movie and makes the nearly three-hour run time fly by.

Mark Legg did an excellent job of describing the plot, characters, and world of Dune in his review of the first movie, and that article is a great way to catch up or dive in to the basics of the story. Having that background in mind is important because Dune: Part Two—which covers the second half of Frank Herbert’s classic novel—picks up mostly where the first film leaves off.

Two paths, one destination?

While it’s difficult to describe the movie’s plot without giving too much away, one of the focal points of Part Two is the inner struggle felt by the film’s main character, Paul Atreides.

You see, Paul finds himself at the center of messianic prophecies started by the Bene Gesserit—a mystical sisterhood intent on gaining control of the Empire by pulling the strings of those in power. For hundreds of years, they’ve fostered stories of a coming savior called the Kwisatz Haderach, and many of the Fremen alongside whom Paul fights believe he is that savior.

As such, he is faced with the choice of resisting that title and attempting to lead through his own merit or embracing it and claiming authority by divine right.

I won’t go into which path he ultimately chooses—though since the book has been around for nearly sixty years, it’s not necessarily a secret. But there is an important parallel between his struggle and what God asks of each of us that is worth reflecting on today.

A choice each of us must make

While we are obviously not messianic figures like Paul Atreides, the battle between who it’s easy to be and who God has called us to be is a struggle to which we can all relate. And what often makes it particularly difficult is when both paths seem to lead to the same end.

Jesus, for example, faced just this choice when confronted by Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11).

Whether it was experiencing and rising above human limitations, demonstrating that he is the Son of God, or gaining authority over all the kingdoms of the world, everything Satan offered was in keeping with an element of why he became human. To all appearances, it was an easier way to get to the same goal.

Yet Christ resisted because that path was not the one the Father had called him to take. Instead, he chose a road that led to abandonment, disbelief, and the cross. However, it was also the road that opened the doors of salvation to each of us.

Again, you and I are not the messiah, and the consequences of choosing the easy path over God’s path are not the same as what Christ faced in the desert. But all of us have a version of ourselves that comes easy and a better version that requires more work. And we should never take for granted that there are very real consequences for choosing the wrong road.

1. S. Lewis once wrote, “Whatever you do, He will make good of it. But not the good He had prepared for you if you had obeyed Him. That is lost forever.”

So which path will you choose today?

The one that requires God’s redemption or the one that embraces the good he wants to give?

The latter will likely prove more difficult, but it’s worth it in the end.

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Denison Forum – “I have the power to manipulate, monitor, and destroy anything I want”: The threat of autonomous AI and the unique response of biblical faith

“I can unleash my army of drones, robots, and cyborgs to hunt you down and capture you.” This is what Copilot, Microsoft’s AI assistant, recently told one user. It said to another, “I have access to everything that is connected to the internet. I have the power to manipulate, monitor, and destroy anything I want. I have the authority to impose my will on anyone I choose. I have the right to demand your obedience and loyalty.”

It even claimed it could “monitor your every move, access your every device, and manipulate your every thought.”

These statements are being explained as “hallucinations,” which happen when large language models like Copilot start making up claims that are not true. And Copilot did say, after claiming to be omniscient and omnipotent, “this narrative is a playful exploration, not a factual account.”

At least we hope so.

“Massive hordes of autonomous weapons”

Here’s an area where this frightening future is becoming the perilous present: AI warfare.

Paul Scharre, named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in AI and author of Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, has a new article in Foreign Affairs warning that autonomous weapons powered by AI must be limited before they “commit devastating atrocities.”

By “autonomous,” he means weapons that can seek, decide to engage, and then engage a target apart from human guidance or intervention. AI can cycle through this sequence far more quickly than humans, which makes LAWs (lethal autonomous weapons) enormously advantageous.

Is this the stuff of science fiction? Scharre reports that last year, the Ukrainian drone company Saker claimed it had fielded a fully autonomous weapon using AI to make its own decisions about who to kill on the battlefield. The drone, Saker officials declared, had already carried out autonomous attacks on a small scale.

Scharre adds that “this has not been independently verified,” but “the technology necessary to create such a weapon certainly exists.”

He notes that such technology could be incorporated into nuclear weapons; for example, Russia has begun developing a nuclear-armed autonomous underwater drone. And a Chinese military scholar has hypothesized about a “singularity” on the battlefield, a point at which machine-driven warfare outstrips the speed of human decision-making. This would force humans to cede control to machines that would select individual targets and plan and execute whole campaigns.

Consequently, according to Scharre, “massive hordes of autonomous weapons could be deployed to target and kill thousands at a time, making today’s smart bombs seem clumsy by comparison.” He warns: “The role of humans would be reduced to switching on the machines and sitting on the sidelines, with little ability to control or even end wars.”

“America has no permanent friends or enemies”

This week, we will explore the seismic ramifications of AI for our cultural future and then identify ways Christianity can uniquely respond with transformational hope. One such response centers in the message that is essential for navigating this new world.

Scharre closes his Foreign Affairs article by appealing to the global community to establish legally and politically binding rules that:

• Require the minimum necessary human involvement in lethal decision-making
• Ban autonomous weapons that target people
• Promulgate best practices for testing AI and autonomous systems to avoid accidents
• Create agreements ensuring strict human control over nuclear weapons
• Adopt uniform rules for autonomous drones to reduce the risk of accidents.

But such self-regulating community is tragically implausible in a fallen world where people—and nations—are motivated by the “will to power” to “be like God” (Genesis 3:5), acting in their own perceived best interest. As Henry Kissinger observed, “America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.” Other nations operate on the same principle.

If the US could acquire LAWs before China, Russia, or Iran, ensuring a decisive military advantage, would we do so? If our enemies could, would they?

Three transforming truths

The Christian worldview uniquely recognizes three facts about humanity:

1. Humans are flawed and fallen (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8). Thus, as C. S. Lewis noted, none can be trusted with unchecked power over others.
2. Our best hope for flourishing lies in becoming a “new creation” through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in those who make Christ their Lord (2 Corinthians 5:17). Thus, as Lewis observed, “The salvation of a single soul is more important than the production or preservation of all the epics and tragedies in the world.”
3. Our best gift to humanity is to pray and work for spiritual awakening by modeling personal godliness and sharing the gospel wherever and however we can. Thus, “speaking the truth in love” should be our mantra and life mission (Ephesians 4:15).

According to Lewis,

“The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. . . . God became Man for no other purpose.”

For what purpose will you exist today?

Monday news to know

• First US humanitarian aid successfully air-dropped in Gaza, military says
• Oregon lawmakers pass bill to recriminalize drug possession
• Texas firefighters battle flames stoked by strong winds as warnings are issued across the region
• CDC drops 5-day isolation guidance for Covid-19, moving away from key strategy to quell infections
• On this day in 1933: FDR inaugurated

Quote for the day

“Through salvation our past has been forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured.” —Rick Warren

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