Post #3351350

2026-06-11 15:48 UTC

https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/clanker *What does clanker mean?* Clanker is a derogatory term for robots and artificial intelligence that perform tasks once done by humans. (A clanker can technically include everything from a chatbot to the handy robot vacuum in your living room.) ... The 2008 animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, for example, helped to popularize it in online fandom circles, as well as onscreen in the series. Clanker is considered an onomatopoeia, thought to be named after the clanking sound of the metal droids in Star Wars.

Replies (1)

@SuperPengato@scribe.disroot.org 2026-06-11 16:06

On the very page you link to: >People use the term clanker both online and in person to comment either seriously or lightheartedly on the rise of AI. Some oppose using the term, however, because they say it perpetuates other slurs throughout history. There is also this text shown as an example: > ...with the upsurge of AI and AI-related technology (robots, for example), people have been going around calling said technology "clanker" as a slur… I know it's probably [just] a joke [...] but I can't help but feel like it's incredibly tasteless. >@Informal_Radish_1891, r/blackladies subreddit, August 1, 2025 Now that's interesting isn't it ? Wonder what Informal_Radish finds so tasteless about it ? Here, I found [the post in question](https://old.reddit.com/r/blackladies/comments/1mckotk/does_clanker_kinda_rub_anyone_else_the_wrong_way/). Unsurprisingly, she and some of those who replied echo the same concerns I mentioned.

Open ##3351396