The AI Term ‘Clanker’ is Becoming a Mask for Racist TikTok Comedy Skits

In July, shortly after getting an email pitch about the “ideal” AI girlfriend, content creator Harrison Stewart crafted a TikTok skit utilizing the anti-AI term “clanker.”

Impersonating a disapproving father, he confronted his daughter’s robotic boyfriend in the year 2044. “What’s your name? No it’s not. It’s model number 626 S Series. That’s your name, you filthy clanker,” Stewart declares in the video.

As one of the pioneers in creating clanker-themed TikToks, Stewart, known online as Chaise, earned the nickname “clanker guy” from his fans after accumulating millions of views. However, in August, the 19-year-old creator, who is Black, announced he would cease producing any more content on the topic. He found that the humor and responses had turned racist.

“When I check my comments and individuals start calling me ‘cligger’ and ‘clanka’ or ‘you’re a filthy clanker’—not directing those slurs towards AI and electronics, but at me—I no longer find that comical or entertaining,” Stewart expresses in the video.

The term clanker traces back to late 1950s author William Tenn, who coined it to refer to robots in science fiction films, but its use as a slur originated from the Star Wars franchise, where it was employed derogatorily against antagonist droids and troopers. Recently, it has evolved into a form of protest against the swift integration of AI into nearly every facet of society.

In the past three months, the term has amassed over 2 million Google searches and at least hundreds of thousands of social media mentions. In a post on X in July, Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona stated, “Tired of yelling ‘REPRESENTATIVE’ into the phone 10 times just to speak to a human? My new bill ensures you won’t have to talk to a clanker if you don’t want to.”

On TikTok and Instagram, the growing resistance against AI has manifested in the form of brief video skits, imagining a future where robots are fully integrated into society. The term “clanker,” along with “tinskins,” “wirebacks,” and “oil bleeders,” is employed as an insult in these skits. Yet, some of these skits seem to cast clankers as stand-ins for Black individuals, perpetuating racist stereotypes and scenarios reminiscent of a pre–Civil Rights era.