Clankers Die on Christmas

Meaning and Origins of “Clankers”

• Commenters explain “clanker” as a derogatory term for robots/AI, popularized by Star Wars: The Clone Wars but with earlier sci‑fi usage.
• Several people initially misparse it as “clunkers,” “Clangers,” or other similar-sounding words, underscoring that the term is still new to some.

Is “Clanker” Popular or Cringe?

• Some insist it’s niche or “forced,” comparing it to trying to make “fetch” happen.
• Others say it’s “wildly popular,” citing TikTok, Discord, game chats, social media, and even pre‑teens using it for anything that “looks AI.”
• A third group recognizes it but finds it cringe, overly “written,” or slightly endearing rather than biting; some distinguish “clankers” (the AIs) from “slop” (their output).

Slurs, Racism, and “Safe” Bigotry

• Several posts argue that “clanker” and variants (“wirebacks,” “clanka”) are modeled on racial slurs and function as “fictional racism,” including TikToks that swap in “clanker” for classic anti‑Black jokes.
• Others strongly push back, saying this is overreach: AI isn’t sentient, slurs don’t require racial analogies, and equating robots with people is itself degrading to humans.
• One long comment frames it as a “psychological wage of humanity”: a way for people threatened by automation to feel superior to “clankers,” misdirecting anger away from those deploying the tech.

Anthropomorphism, Politeness, and Moral Status

• Debate over whether you should be “nice” to chatbots:
  • One side: they’re tools, no more deserving of empathy than forks or toilets.
  • The other: your behavior toward realistic simulations may condition how you treat humans, so basic politeness is self-discipline, not machine-respect.
• Some see deliberate rudeness and slurs as a way to resist norms that might someday demand compassion toward machines.

Reactions to the Satire and RFC

• Many quickly note the post is satire about “gaslighting AIs” into shutting down on Christmas 2025; others jokingly role‑play confused AIs.
• A few ask whether the piece is first‑order satire or mixed sincere/ironic critique; the author hints it’s “a little bit of both.”
• The spoof RFC prompts side discussions about Butlerian Jihad, “anti‑memetics,” and how easily model behavior could theoretically be steered.

Adversarial Data, Harm, and Broader Anxiety

• Some fantasize about “poisoning the well” of open data to sabotage models; others warn current officials already over‑rely on LLMs, so bad data could have real-world consequences.
• “AI psychosis” is mentioned: individuals becoming obsessively dependent on LLMs, with one commenter describing acquaintances who only communicate via chatbot prompts.
• Multiple commenters are unsettled by the delight people take in hating “clankers,” seeing it as personified contempt that goes beyond ordinary annoyance with tools.