People love using thinly veiled existing racist/homophobic slurs against AI. “Tinskin”, “wireback”, “cogsucker”, “clanker.”

Yes, I know that “clanker” was in Star Wars. That’s not what made it so popular, and the majority of people using it today likely never saw it there. People also use “clanka” and leave comments about using “the hard r.”

We all know what you’re talking about. You know when you’re typing it out. It’s not alright.

There are people places like Lemmy who spent their lives being called or watching their families be called the terms people are so lightly tossing about today. Do you really think that doesn’t bother any of them?

It seems like so many people were just eagerly waiting for something they felt it was socially acceptable to hurl slurs and abuse at, and happily reached for terms just like the ones they already knew.

Some kids at my niece’s school now think it’s cute to stare at black kids and talk loudly about how much they hate “clankas” making it very clear what they mean by it.

It’s one thing to dislike AI, how it’s been developed, and the intent of replacing human jobs. To insult AI and the people behind it.

It’s something completely different to jump in with constant streams of thinly veiled existing slurs that can and do hurt real people.

  • Trump Rapes KidsOPEnglish
    217·
    13 hours ago

    That would make a lot of racists very happy.

    It’s possible that you don’t understand where the terms I’m complaining about come from. They’re all slurs that have been used against groups of humans for generations, very thinly disguised and now thrown about constantly in public.

    • Almacca@aussie.zoneEnglish
      41·
      10 hours ago

      I’ll insult an inanimate object all I like, thanks. They’re not people. If you can’t see the difference, I don’t know what to say to you. The only example you gave was for fictional robots.

      • Trump Rapes KidsOPEnglish
        25·
        8 hours ago

        You’re missing the entire point. I never ever said anything against insulting AI, or potatoes, or rocks.

        But swapping a letter or two in an existing racial slur that has been used against many people for a long time is not a good way to do that. Every AI insult that I know of is a direct play on an existing racist or homophobic slur.

        Those terms hurt people. That is the problem. Explaining to a little girl why some assholes in her class keep talking about clankas and clankers staring at her and laughing.

        • Almacca@aussie.zoneEnglish
          21·
          8 hours ago

          Explaining to a little girl why some assholes in her class keep talking about clankas and clankers staring at her and laughing.

          If I’m ‘missing the point’ it’s only because you’re making no sense whatsoever. I’m done here.

          • Trump Rapes KidsOPEnglish
            23·
            8 hours ago

            https://www.thedailystar.net/star-youth/news/troubling-ethos-behind-anti-ai-rhetoric-4064471

            Clanker is used in place of nigge* all across the internet. It’s now spreading to being used literally in it’s place to insult black kids.

            Every popular anti-AI slur I know of is just a thin coat of paint on an existing slur. Using something that’s just a slight twist on an existing slur means that those “new” slurs are going to cause damage to the groups the original slur was used against already, and makes it extremely easy to use as a cover.

            Some kids at my niece’s school now think it’s cute to stare at black kids and talk loudly about how much they hate “clankas” making it very clear what they mean by it. If it’s brought up with the school administration they respond the same way people in this thread are, trying to condescendingly explain that it’s a term against AI and not a racial slur. I’m sure there are places where families are going through the same with “wireback” and the rest of them.