00:00Is Robophobia on the rise?
00:02I ain't gonna let no Clanker take a drink from my fountain.
00:06AI haters are going viral for cursing out robots with the term Clanker,
00:11an insult that comes directly from Star Wars.
00:13Clanker was coined in the 2005 video game Star Wars, Republic Commando,
00:17where the character Delta-07 can be heard yelling,
00:19Lousy Clanker.
00:21The term became a joke in the Star Wars fandom and started inspiring memes in 2013.
00:26Then, in 2018, the Prequel Memes subreddit turned it into one of their most popular memes.
00:31Prequel Memes helped popularize the term's ironic use as a slur,
00:35inspiring countless memes using it in that context.
00:37The idea of there being slurs for robots can be linked to the concept of Robophobia,
00:42meaning an irrational fear of robots.
00:44Robophobia is a common theme in sci-fi,
00:46with the term itself notably being used in a 1997 episode of Doctor Who titled The Robots of Death.
00:52Now, the term Clanker and the concept of Robophobia are going viral across social media
00:56as a way of showing just how much you hate AI.
00:59You know, you're one of the good Clankers.
01:01Really?
01:02No.
01:03The best Clanker is a dead Clanker.
01:05The whole thing started around June 20th, 2025,
01:08when memes using the term started popping up on TikTok.
01:10TikToker Nikaholme13 helped popularize the term after posting a video where he yells
01:15Clanker at a delivery robot rolling down the street.
01:17What are you doing here, Wirebox?
01:19Huh?
01:20You got a permit to be here?
01:21Huh?
01:22Stupid!
01:23Get the fuck on my property, Wireback!
01:24Fucking Copperhead!
01:25Get the fuck on my face!
01:27Get out of here!
01:28The video gained over 4 million views.
01:30Now, calling robots Clankers has become a trend.
01:33Videos are going viral that show people calling robots not only Clanker,
01:36but a variety of ironic slurs, including Oil Leaker, Copperhead, and Rust Butter.
01:41The meme has also spread to Twitter, where users are uploading images of robots
01:44and treating them just as poorly.
01:45Others are showing some empathy and uploading images of their favorite robots,
01:49asking the question, would you call them a Clanker?
01:51Clanker has gotten so popular that it's even being discussed on mainstream news networks like NBC,
01:56where Jason Abrazzisi suggests that the rise in the word is a sign of our skepticism towards AI.
02:01I think if you're looking for evidence of an early sentiment of people pushing back on AI,
02:07pushing back on automation, this word is a really fascinating example of that.
02:11It's a slur.
02:12It is something that people are using very much as a slur.
02:15They're using it as a derogatory term to try to label something, some sort of machine,
02:20as lesser than or othered, you're a Clanker.
02:24It might be a reasonable theory, considering how many of the memes using the term
02:28are undeniably negative towards AI and robots,
02:31whether it's memes about fighting in the Clanker Wars
02:33and having to take out your favorite fictional robots,
02:35or memes about daughters bringing their AI robot boyfriends home to meet their parents,
02:39only for their parents to shout every robophobic slur in the book at them.
02:43No daughter of mine will be seen with a Clanker.
02:46Get out of my house right now, you Clanker!
02:50Now, some people are starting to wonder whether or not they should use the term
02:54out of fear that the AIs will remember that they used it as they continue to get more powerful.
02:58Is the Clanker meme just an innocent joke, or should we be careful of what we say to AI?
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03:15Absolutely the AIs going not the $luscon.
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03:20Obviously, if the Hmm & America may be successful,
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