Name: Clanker.

Age: 20 years old.

Presence: Everywhere, particularly on social media.

That seems somewhat derogatory. Indeed, it’s considered a slur.

What type of slur? A slur targeting robots.

Is it because they are made of metal? Yes, it’s often used to insult actual robots like delivery bots and autonomous vehicles, but it increasingly targets platforms like AI chatbots and ChatGPT.

I’m not familiar with this – why would I want to belittle AI? For information creation, they either promote utterly false narratives and generate “slops” (meaning glitter or clearly unfounded content), or simply lack human qualities.

Does AI care about being insulted? It’s a complex philosophical issue, and the consensus is “no.”

So why does it matter? People feel frustrated with technology that can become widespread and potentially disrupt job markets.

Come here and let Crancous take over our responsibilities! That’s the notion.

Where did this slur originate? It was first used in the 2005 Star Wars game to describe PE Jor’s fight against Androids, but Clanker gained popularity through the Clone Wars TV series. It then spread to platforms like Reddit, memes, and TikTok.

Is that truly the best we can do? Popular culture has birthed other anti-robot slurs. There’s “Toaster” from Battlestar Galactica and “Skin Job” from Blade Runner, but “Clanker” seems to have taken the lead for now.

It seems like a frivolous waste of time, but I suppose it’s largely harmless. You might think so, yet it implies that using “clankers” could normalize real bias.

Oh, come on. Popular memes and parody videos often equate “clankers” to racial slurs.

So what? They’re just clankers. “This inclination to use such terms reveals more about our insecurities than about the technology itself,” says linguist Adam Alexick.

I haven’t. Anti-robot; I wouldn’t want to marry my daughter. Can you hear how that sounds?

I feel like I’ll be quite embarrassed about all this in ten years. Probably. Some argue that by mocking AI, we risk elevating it to a human level that isn’t guaranteed.

That’s definitely my view. However, “Roko’s Basilisk” suggests that future AI could punish those who didn’t help them thrive initially.

I believe it’s vital to label it a Clanker. We might find ourselves apologizing to robot overlords for past injustices.

Will they find humor in this? Perhaps one day Clanker will have a sense of humor about it.

Say: “This desire to create a slur reflects more on our insecurities than the technology itself.”

Don’t say: “Some of my best friends are Clankers.”