Young people are using the term “clanker” from Star Wars as a derogatory term for AI. While YPulse’s AI report shows AI is a part of daily life for Gen Z, not all of them are happy with where the tech is headed. Many are concerned that the industry’s obsession with automation will lead to AI replacing human jobs (which for some it has, even if they had to backtrack). In true Gen Z fashion, they’re turning to dark humor to express their feelings, and “clanker”—a term used in Star Wars prequels by human soldiers to describe battle drones—is the insult they’re using to describe real-world robots and the constant presence of AI. Most videos involve making fun of the CEOs (like Elon Musk and Sam Altman) who are overly enthusiastic about integrating AI into everything, while other memes are simply expressing their frustration with their own AI interactions. One meme on X with the caption “when u call customer support and a clanker picks up,” has over 199K likes. (Mashable)
👀 Read more from YPulse: The AI Features from Brands That Work (and Don’t) With Gen Z
