# Is it possible to be racist against AIs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 13, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946 "2025-10-13T23:10:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/1 "2025-10-13T23:10:33Z")
I was talking to my sister earlier today about how so much of the United States’ GDP growth is just based on AI advancements right now, and how we’ve got practically nothing else going for us. She asked me why I’m so racist against AIs. This did not come out of nowhere. I refer to them all the time as “fucking clankers” that are stealing all the jobs. How each data center uses about a million gallons of water a day just to draw pretty pictures and answer questions sometimes incorrectly. So, is it possible to be racist against a machine? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/2 "2025-10-13T23:13:07Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > So, is it possible to be racist against a machine? I don’t know, but JREG gives it his best shot here: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IoDDWmIWMDg/hqdefault.jpg "Robot Slur Tier List") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoDDWmIWMDg) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/3 "2025-10-13T23:19:56Z")
Short answer: no Long answer: nooooooooooooooooooooooooo, LOL of course not! ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/4 "2025-10-13T23:20:49Z")
Ok slightly longer actual answer. IMO the idea that you can be racist about AI is itself a offensive racist suggestion. By making that suggestion you are inherently comparing black people (and other people of disadvantaged ethnic groups) to inanimate objects (yes AI are inanimate objects no matter how many matrix multiplies they can do per second). That’s about the most hateful offensive thing you can do. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/5 "2025-10-13T23:21:09Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > So, is it possible to be racist against a machine? Racism is showing prejudice, antagonism, or discrimination against a person based on their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group. A machine isn’t a person, and has no race or ethnicity, so no, you can’t be racist against a machine. I don’t think there is an existing term for a bias against machines. The closest would probably be “Luddite”, but that generally means resisting new technology or even new ways of doing things in general, rather than having a bias against technology as a whole (or AI in particular). I’ve seen “cyberphobia” and “robophobia” being suggested as terms to describe the behavior in fiction. I’d propose the term “organic supremacist” as my own suggestion for someone who feels any artificial attempt to perform the work of humans as being inherently inferior. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/6 "2025-10-13T23:24:10Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > A machine isn’t a person, and has no race or ethnicity, so no, you can’t be racist against a machine. Eventually, if AI progresses far enough, the machines will be persons. There is, of course, considerable debate about where that point is, but it’s somewhere. And when it comes, not everyone will agree that it has come. I would also remind those assembled that a lot of real-world racists have, historically, maintained that the groups against which they were biased were likewise “not persons”. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/7 "2025-10-13T23:25:51Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I’d propose the term “organic supremacist” as my own suggestion for someone who feels any artificial attempt to perform the work of humans as being inherently inferior. _Meatophile_ ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/8 "2025-10-13T23:28:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > real-world racists have, historically, maintained that the groups against which they were biased were likewise “not persons”. And this is why the suggestion is so offensive. By saying disliking AI is _racist_ you are saying people of different races are analogous to boxes of silicon wafers ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/9 "2025-10-13T23:30:16Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > And this is why the suggestion is so offensive It really isn’t though ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/10 "2025-10-13T23:32:31Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Meatophile I love that term. > [@Chronos](#): > > I would also remind those assembled that a lot of real-world racists have, historically, maintained that the groups against which they were biased were likewise “not persons”. That is a valid point, and there may be a level of technology where it seems appropriate to grant personhood on AI. Which raises all kinds of ethical and legal questions (which countless scifi stories have explored). At that point, if they identify as a race and/or ethnicity, racism might apply. You could even have Motorolans and Intelese racial spats between AI. (“AI” itself might be considered a hateful slur.) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/11 "2025-10-13T23:32:33Z")
You can’t be racist against a machine or something inanimate. You can be irrational or unreasonable about it, though. Like saying something human-made is automatically better than something AI-made, with no good argument. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/12 "2025-10-13T23:35:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Eventually, if AI progresses far enough, the machines will be persons. There is, of course, considerable debate about where that point is, but it’s somewhere. And when it comes, not everyone will agree that it has come. > > I would also remind those assembled that a lot of real-world racists have, historically, maintained that the groups against which they were biased were likewise “not persons”. I’m reminded of the Star Trek TNG episode _The Measure of a Man_, in which Data is put on trial over just this question. > **[The Measure of a Man (Star Trek: The Next Generation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Measure_of_a_Man_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation))** > > "The Measure of a Man" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American science-fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 35th episode overall. It was originally released on February 13, 1989, in broadcast syndication. It was written as a speculative script by former attorney and Star Trek: The Original Series novelist Melinda M. Snodgrass. It was directed by Robert Scheerer. > Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the F... We aren’t there yet, but I’m not an expert and I couldn’t say just how close we might be. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/13 "2025-10-13T23:51:54Z")
Or to put it another way, we are a long way from AI even being even considered ethically comparable to animals. Animals should definitely be protected from harm, and given ethical protections by society, none of which should be given to AI. But it’s still super offensive to say someone who doesn’t like dogs is being “racist” to dogs. How much more offensive is it to say someone who doesn’t like AI is being “racist” to AI? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/14 "2025-10-13T23:54:43Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > But it’s still super offensive to say someone who doesn’t like dogs is being “racist” to dogs. [Citation needed] Like, it’s _silly_ to say that someone who doesn’t like dogs is being “racist”, but “super offensive”? Come on, man… ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/15 "2025-10-13T23:59:17Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Short answer: no > > Long answer: nooooooooooooooooooooooooo, LOL of course not! Clanker lover! ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/16 "2025-10-14T00:04:02Z")
When the New York Times published a speculative front page imagining their January 1, 2100 edition, one of the articles contained repeated references to “r’bots” - the implication being that “robot” had become an offensive slur. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/17 "2025-10-14T00:16:11Z")
Racism is a specific narrowly defined flavor of “us good; them bad”. A person prejudiced against machine intelligence can certainly believe “us (humans) good; them (machines) bad.” It’s an “us-ism”, but it isn’t racism. Because machines are _not_ a different ethnic group of humans. Now whether all possible us-isms are wrong, or only those that choose to subdivide humans by ethnicity, is a different and larger question. I could see the OP’s sister using “racism” as a lazy shortcut for “us good; them bad”-ism. But she’d be ignorant, intellectually lazy, and linguistically wrong in so doing. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/18 "2025-10-14T00:36:14Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > We aren’t there yet, but I’m not an expert and I couldn’t say just how close we might be. Even saying “We aren’t there _yet_” implies that it’s only a matter of time, which is hardly a sure thing. My first reaction to the OP was "It sounds like your sister is confusingt LLMs like ChatGPT with “artificially intelligent” characters from science fiction like Data from _Star Trek_. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/19 "2025-10-14T00:39:24Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Even saying “We aren’t there _yet_” implies that it’s only a matter of time, which is hardly a sure thing. I admit that barring a collapse of civilization, my opinion is that it is more likely than not, and probably by quite a bit. We know it’s possible, since we exist. It’s just a matter of overcoming the technical obstacles and avoiding a collapse of our civilization before we get there. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/20 "2025-10-14T00:43:22Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Racism is showing prejudice, antagonism, or discrimination against a person based on their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group. > > A machine isn’t a person, and has no race or ethnicity, so no, you can’t be racist against a machine. I think the best example might be people calling Asimov’s robots (which are effectively human by the Caves of Steel if not earlier) “boy”. Which sounds very weird these days 70 years later where even using the term against a robot sounds vaguely racist, at least in the US. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946.md?page=2)