Exhaustion over artificial intelligence has reached a new peak, with people now inventing slurs to describe robots and those who embrace them. Among various contenders, the term 'clanker' has emerged as a leading pejorative, borrowed directly from the 'Star Wars' universe. In the 2005 video game 'Republic Commando' and the animated series 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars,' clanker is slang for semi-conscious droids. For instance, clone trooper Jek famously yells, 'OK, clankers, suck laser!' before firing at battle droids.
Other Slurs for AI Enthusiasts
Beyond clanker, other terms are circulating, including 'bot-licker,' 'Grokkers' (referring to users of Elon Musk's xAI chatbot Grok), and the inevitable 'clanker wanker.' Comedian and podcast host Kit Grier Mulvenna tweeted, 'Can't believe I've lived far enough into the future to learn the first slur for robots,' after seeing a meme about calling customer support and encountering a clanker.
Can AI Be Insulted?
This raises the question of whether it is possible to use a slur against AI. Linguist Adam Aleksic, known as EtymologyNerd, calls clanker 'definitely a slur.' He notes that its usage requires anthropomorphization—ascribing human traits to nonhuman entities. 'AI has developed to the point where it's impossible not to personify it in some way,' Aleksic told HuffPost. 'The application of a human-like pejorative label paradoxically simultaneously personifies and dehumanizes it.' He has also seen terms like 'tin skin,' 'prompstitute,' and 'rust bucket' used humorously to insult AI and its enthusiasts.
Sci-Fi's Influence on Language
Science fiction has long shaped our vocabulary. Words like robot, robotics, genetic engineering, deep space, and pressure suit originated in sci-fi before being adopted by engineers and scientists. 'Cyberspace' was coined by William Gibson in the 1980s, while 'grok' comes from Robert A. Heinlein's 1961 novel 'Stranger in a Strange Land,' meaning 'to deeply understand.' Jess Zafarris, author of 'Useless Etymology,' notes that 'astronaut' was popularized by NASA but had earlier sci-fi roots in Percy Greg's 1880 novel 'Across the Zodiac.'
Will Clanker Catch On?
Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer, a linguist at Chemnitz University of Technology, believes clanker has potential to spread. The word is short, easy to understand, and onomatopoeic, evoking a loud metallic noise. 'The more you hear or see a word being used, the likelier you are to use it in your own speech,' she said. She has already heard someone use 'Those damn clankers' to express negativity toward robots, unaware of its meme origins. The term taps into growing public angst about AI, including its inaccuracies, potential for sabotage, and threat to jobs.
Despite concerns about AI consciousness, current systems do not feel insulted. Sanchez-Stockhammer asked an AI about the term, and it replied: 'Nope, I don't feel insulted—at all. I don't have feelings in the human sense, so names like clanker, tin can, or code monkey don't bother me. But if you're calling me that in a Star Wars kind of way, I'll take it as a thematic compliment.'
