# Butler Called for War on Every Machine by Samuel Butler > "Our opinion is that war to the death should be instantly proclaimed against them. Every machine of every sort should be destroyed by the well-wisher of his species. Let there be no exceptions made, no quarter shown." > **— Samuel Butler**, *1863, “Darwin Among the Machines,” The Press, Christchurch* ## Sources and Context - **Full source:** [Samuel Butler, “Darwin Among the Machines,” collected-text transcription](https://www.thetedkarchive.com/library/samuel-butler-darwin-among-the-machines). The essay ends with an abolitionist proposal in a deliberately provocative Victorian argument; the reminder records the historical position, not an editorial recommendation. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor|AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Last Migration Will Not Be Human|The Last Migration Will Not Be Human]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/AI Safety|AI Safety]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Darwin Among the Machines|Darwin Among the Machines]] - [[wiki/AI Safety|AI Safety]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "Our opinion is that war to the death should be instantly proclaimed against them. Every machine of every sort should be destroyed by the well-wisher of his species. Let there be no exceptions made, no quarter shown." — Samuel Butler, 1863, “Darwin Among the Machines,” The Press, Christchurch https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-butler-war-on-every-machine ```