There's a youtuber I watch who's playing through Zero Company, and I was very amused to hear NPCs yell "clanker" at enemy droids.
replyPretty sure the term was popularised by the Clone Wars animated series. I was always hoping we'd go the BSG route, and call them "toasters"
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replyYou're one of today's lucky 10,000 [0]
replyGo away
replyFor me it’s a strong indicator that we’re not going to hear any serious thought from someone that uses it. It’s part of a herd behavior, to signal an ideological position.
replylol what are you talking about, clanker is a pretty ubiquitous term in sf right now
replyYour statement proves the point more than disproves it tbh.
replyThat only supports my point.
reply > It’s part of a herd behavior, to signal an ideological position.
It’s ideological in that it’s generally used by people that are anti-AI, or are trying to call out some perceived problem with AI.
replyIn my experience, as I alluded to, it’s not commonly used by people who are thinking seriously for themselves about the benefits, risks, and consequences of AI and the economic activity surrounding it.
Lol idk about that, some of the biggest AI fans at work use it. It's just common slang now, you're assigning too much to it
reply> It’s ideological in that it’s generally used by people that are anti-AI
replyIt's much more nuanced, after all. Example:
That article only confirms what I’m saying. The author is describing their personal perspective on the word, but that’s not how it’s used in general, which is why the author received pushback on their undocumented and idiosyncratic usage.
replyI literally run an AI startup; we all talk about the clankers and have for more than a year
replyLighten up, dude, it's a joke.
replyI’m never going to “lighten up” about anti-intellectual Luddites who try to use social coercion to suppress intellectual progress.
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