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Looks like there is some chatter on social media - and articles in the New York Times and the Guardian about the use of the word clanker, which apparently originates from Star Wars, as a slur for AI chatbots and robots.
Some people are no doubt just using it as a joke, while others seem to be genuinely annoyed.
It probably makes sense to oppose this term because it could genuinely be a form of bigotry if AI becomes sentient.
However, at the moment, people getting genuinely annoyed with robots and AI – not with the companies deploying them, but with the robots themselves – are probably more like people shouting at chairs or cursing their own tools. Someone shouting at their AI and using a slur, especially in anger rather than a joke, may be a red flag about a person an could even be indicative of them being a bigot or an idiot or anger issues or just something about them not being right. But probably only when combined with other red flags. We all do odd things from time to time. I have been known to shout at my own computer, once or twice to be honest. Ok, I said “honest” so it was more like 100 times. So I’ll definitely give anyone who gets momentarily annoyed a pass.
And also because if AI one day has the power to destroy us and/or take over we probably shouldn’t give it any ideas by making it think we hate it. That may seem like a joke, but actually I’m being serious.
This has the potential to eventually develop into a political or culture wars issue. Change-resisting people who have strong fear and disgust reactions tend to be conservatives, so that’s where anti-AI feeling might come from. I think it might more likely come from the working-class right who are feeling the inequality and looking for someone to blame. If you can’t (in theory) criticize minority groups any more, then shouting at robots becomes an outlet for your need to punch down. The elites in the US, including on the Republican right, need AI to help the US stay ahead of China on technology and military, and are in bed with some of the tech elites that have this tech. So it’s not clear which way the Republican party would go.
There is a slight risk of some democrat (or left-wing politician in another country) saying something that make them look hopelessly out of touch and give the right another culture wars win. My comments about bigotry and AI sentience above are probably something I would keep my mouth shut about if I was a lefty politician. If asked about it, I’d probably laugh it off and chide the interviewer for not asking me about more important matters such as the cost of living or how best to handle illegal immigration. It easily had the potential for the Republicans to say “the democrats are on the side of the AI, we are on the side of the humans”. This is a problem because it could mean that the issue of AI sentience ethics will be set aside for a long time. So the usual thing – conservatives and right-wing politicians slowing down progress and needed debates.
The right in the US is annoyingly scoring a number of culture wars wins lately, which is annoying, because it deflections attention from all the bad things they are doing on climate change, democracy, calling out Trump etc. But perhaps this being a political issue is some years or decades away. I suspect all of this will die down pretty soon for now and not reach the stage where it is a political culture wars debate, but then one day it’ll all come back again a bit stronger. This is actually the first time this debate has moved slightly into the broader public consciousness since until recently it was just something for philosophers and AI professionals and a few others.
Some people are no doubt just using it as a joke, while others seem to be genuinely annoyed.
It probably makes sense to oppose this term because it could genuinely be a form of bigotry if AI becomes sentient.
However, at the moment, people getting genuinely annoyed with robots and AI – not with the companies deploying them, but with the robots themselves – are probably more like people shouting at chairs or cursing their own tools. Someone shouting at their AI and using a slur, especially in anger rather than a joke, may be a red flag about a person an could even be indicative of them being a bigot or an idiot or anger issues or just something about them not being right. But probably only when combined with other red flags. We all do odd things from time to time. I have been known to shout at my own computer, once or twice to be honest. Ok, I said “honest” so it was more like 100 times. So I’ll definitely give anyone who gets momentarily annoyed a pass.
And also because if AI one day has the power to destroy us and/or take over we probably shouldn’t give it any ideas by making it think we hate it. That may seem like a joke, but actually I’m being serious.
This has the potential to eventually develop into a political or culture wars issue. Change-resisting people who have strong fear and disgust reactions tend to be conservatives, so that’s where anti-AI feeling might come from. I think it might more likely come from the working-class right who are feeling the inequality and looking for someone to blame. If you can’t (in theory) criticize minority groups any more, then shouting at robots becomes an outlet for your need to punch down. The elites in the US, including on the Republican right, need AI to help the US stay ahead of China on technology and military, and are in bed with some of the tech elites that have this tech. So it’s not clear which way the Republican party would go.
There is a slight risk of some democrat (or left-wing politician in another country) saying something that make them look hopelessly out of touch and give the right another culture wars win. My comments about bigotry and AI sentience above are probably something I would keep my mouth shut about if I was a lefty politician. If asked about it, I’d probably laugh it off and chide the interviewer for not asking me about more important matters such as the cost of living or how best to handle illegal immigration. It easily had the potential for the Republicans to say “the democrats are on the side of the AI, we are on the side of the humans”. This is a problem because it could mean that the issue of AI sentience ethics will be set aside for a long time. So the usual thing – conservatives and right-wing politicians slowing down progress and needed debates.
The right in the US is annoyingly scoring a number of culture wars wins lately, which is annoying, because it deflections attention from all the bad things they are doing on climate change, democracy, calling out Trump etc. But perhaps this being a political issue is some years or decades away. I suspect all of this will die down pretty soon for now and not reach the stage where it is a political culture wars debate, but then one day it’ll all come back again a bit stronger. This is actually the first time this debate has moved slightly into the broader public consciousness since until recently it was just something for philosophers and AI professionals and a few others.
