@asklemmy #AskMastodon Philosophical/anthropological question for anyone interested in #SocialJustice or #AIethics or anyone with a thought on it.
Do you think the common association and clear similarities between the robot-pejorative term “clanker” and the n-word at all indicate that use of the term “clanker” ought to be avoided?
Disclaimer: I’m not a part of any historically oppressed people groups
If so, perhaps the rabbit-pejorative term “bunny” should also be avoided for the same reasons as the dreaded n-word.
Any word ending in “er” is an insult now?
Enjoy: https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordfinder/classic/ends/all/-1/er/1
No, but the way clanker has been adopted and expanded upon by the internet has made it into an analogue for the n word.
The term was originally a pejoritive for battle droids in the Star Wars prequel films, and was then adopted by the anti-AI crowd.
From there, it grew into ‘clanka’ (no hard R, just like the n word) jokes, and moved into other analogues like ‘Jim Code laws’, ‘George Droid’, and ‘Rosa Sparks’.
@6nk06 Far from it, but I don’t think you can really deny that “clanker” is intentionally being used as a slur
I deny. Making a joke is not a slur. Calling someone an asshole is not a slur either.
And what about wanker?
No. There are plenty of insults, and even normal adjectives, that end in -er.
It’s not wrong to call a clanker clanker.
Ethics apply to humans foremost and shouldn’t be considered towards an inanimate creature.
#AskMastodon
My concerns behind the question have nothing to do with worrying about being demeaning to AI or robots, but my thought is that the association between “clanker” and the n-word, and the common use of “clanker” in a lighthearted manner could imply (and possibly unintentionally support) blasé attitudes towards extremely harsh slurs in generalYou’re a cheeseburger.
