This is the second time I've seen somebody use the word "clankers" in the last couple days to refer to AI. Is that a thing now? Where'd that come from?
Gonna be honest, it has taken away from the message both times I've seen it. It feels a bit like you're LARPing your favorite humans vs robots tv show.
You can find the answers to both of your questions on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clanker
I've been hearing the term in IRC and discords for about a year or more already.
I get that it can seem childish but when you compare that to the indolent people who are demanding AI, it cancels out.
"Clanker" is a sign that we're dealing with a Blade Runner, and better be careful
It mostly sounds like people who are desperate to use racist slurs and have finally found a(nother) public outlet for it.
It is a thing, i've been hearing it for at least 6 months. There's a lot of people who really hate AI and want nothing to do with it.
We have been rewatching Clone Wars as a family, and I, for one, find this terminology hilarious given the use of it in the series towards the separatist droids.