# 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:** 8
**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 15, 2025, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/141 "2025-10-15T18:30:27Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Seems like some people want to use the narrowest possible definition(s) of their term(s) while others want to use wider one(s). It’s a decent bet there is no resolution to that one; the Language Uncertainty Principle ensures that. I don’t even know if that’s the issue. Let me try to cut through this Gordian Knot, @griffin1977. If someone seriously tells you that racism against AI is literally possible and is just as bad as the real thing, they are either delusional or racist themselves. On the other hand, jokingly referring to irrational dislike of AI (or anything else) as “racist” does not inherently imply that _racism against AI is literally possible and is just as bad as the real thing_. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2025, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/142 "2025-10-25T13:16:07Z")
My non-scientific thoughts: AI is not really a race, but more of a clade that is just starting to join the rest of us. So as much as I hate certain insects, particulary the Anopheles mosquito, that’s not racist, it is cladist - it is all mosquitos I disdain. But somehow I think AI has not yet got to semi-sentience; and while useful as a tool, it has a long way to go before I characterized my dislike for AI as “cladist”. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2025, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/143 "2025-10-25T16:18:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Saying that black people and gay people can both be the target of prejudice does not mean you are equating black people and gay people in general. > > The same principle applies if somebody asks if AI’s can be the target of prejudice. This does not imply that the person is equating black people and AI’s in general. Sure, but it’s not “racist.” Prejudice against gay people and AI’s is _prejudice_, not racism. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2025, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/144 "2025-10-25T17:26:35Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Sure, but it’s not “racist.” Prejudice against gay people and AI’s is _prejudice_, not racism. Not sure what your point is. I called it prejudice. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2025, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/145 "2025-10-25T18:33:31Z")
True. I probably shouldn’t have replied directly to you but more generally. People have been replying to the OP and discussing as if prejudice = racism. ---
**Author:** ![tampora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@tampora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tampora)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/146 "2025-11-18T04:38:58Z")
As console game players would likely attest, racism doesn’t have to be accurate. Plenty of people toss inapplicable racist slurs at other people without having any idea what race the receiving person belongs to. People can certainly be racist to AIs. Otherwise, is that kid in Call of Duty 3 calling everyone the N-word only being racist if someone actually happens to be black? ---
**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:** [November 18, 2025, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/147 "2025-11-18T05:23:19Z")
> [@tampora](#): > > People can certainly be racist to AIs. Otherwise, is that kid in Call of Duty 3 calling everyone the N-word only being racist if someone actually happens to be black? I think you missed my point. If they called everyone a “stapler” would they be racist? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/148 "2025-11-18T08:47:20Z")
> [@tampora](#): > > People can certainly be racist to AIs. Otherwise, is that kid in Call of Duty 3 calling everyone the N-word only being racist if someone actually happens to be black? He’s not being racist, he _is_ a racist, and he’s letting you all know he is. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/149 "2025-11-18T18:23:16Z")
If I called an AI the word nigger I’d certainly be being racist. But I’d be being racist _towards Bĺacks_, not AIs. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/150 "2025-11-18T18:52:50Z")
In practice, if AIs were sapient (so that it actually mattered) I suspect that bigotry towards them _would_ be labeled “racist” due to the lack of a better alternative, and the need to call it _something._ There’s no actual, specific term for “hating people who use another physical substrate”. Also, if it _was_ an actual issue I expect that most of the people complaining about how the definition doesn’t quite fit would remain silent in order to avoid associating themselves with the bigots who no doubt would be using that exact argument to defend their bigotry. Not a consideration at present. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/151 "2025-11-19T18:24:18Z")
> [@tampora](#): > > Otherwise, is that kid in Call of Duty 3 calling everyone the N-word only being racist if someone actually happens to be black? Your logic makes no sense. It’s not that the AI is some how a _different_ race. It’s that the AI doesn’t have a race or a sexuality or any other human characteristic. It is an inanimate object that fundamentally cannot be the victim of racism, homophobia, ageism, or any other human prejudice. > [@tampora](#): > > Plenty of people toss inapplicable racist slurs at other people without having any idea what race the receiving person belongs to And that is absolutely racist even if no members of the victimised race are online. On the other hand complaining about AIs in the same circumstances is 100% definitely not racist, even if all the players online to hear you are AI agents. They are inanimate objects incapable of being the victims of racism. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/152 "2025-11-19T21:45:44Z")
They are certainly able to be _targets_ of _bigotry_. Now where exactly the target of something adverse becomes a victim of it is an interesting debate of its own. Which point I’ll set aside right here. Moving on … I hold that “racism” is the specific subtype of bigotry aimed at race. Which is to say skin color, ethnicity, religion, _of humans_. Sexism is another subtype of bigotry aimed at the male/female types _of humans_. So its a category error to say one can be racist as to AIs. But you can definitely can be bigoted about them as a group of sorta-intelligences. “Racism” is just the wrong word for the sort of bigotry you’re having. AIs also don’t have sex/gender. So it’s a category error to claim to be sexist towards AIs. But you definitely can be bigoted about them as a group of sorta-intelligences. “Sexism” is just the wrong word for the sort of bigotry you’re having. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/153 "2025-11-19T22:13:28Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But you can definitely can be bigoted about them as a group of sorta-intelligences. “Racism” is just the wrong word for the sort of bigotry you’re having. It would absolutely be bigotry. As to the specific kind, we don’t have a term yet because it hasn’t been necessary, because it hasn’t been possible. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/154 "2025-11-19T22:15:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > They are certainly able to be _targets_ of _bigotry_. They absolutely 100% cannot. Definitionally only _people_ (in the single or collective sense of the word) can be the target if bigotry. Inanimate objects (or animals) cannot be the target of bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/155 "2025-11-19T22:49:19Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > They absolutely 100% cannot. Definitionally only _people_ (in the single or collective sense of the word) can be the target if bigotry. Inanimate objects (or animals) cannot be the target of bigotry. > **[Speciesism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speciesism)** > > Speciesism (/ˈspiːʃiːˌzɪzəm, -siːˌzɪz-/) is a term used in philosophy regarding the treatment of individuals of different species. The term has several different definitions. Some specifically define speciesism as discrimination or unjustified treatment based on an individual's species membership, while others define it as differential treatment without regard to whether the treatment is justified or not. Richard D. Ryder, who coined the term, defined it as "a prejudice or attit As a term, spec... > [@](#): > > The term _speciesism_ , and the argument that it is a prejudice, first appeared in 1970 in a privately printed pamphlet written by British psychologist [Richard D. Ryder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_D._Ryder). Ryder was a member of a group of academics in [Oxford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford), England, the nascent animal rights community, now known as the [Oxford Group](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_Group_(animal_rights)). One of the group’s activities was distributing pamphlets about areas of concern; the pamphlet titled “Speciesism” was written to protest against [animal experimentation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_testing).[[46]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speciesism#cite_note-Ryder_2000-46) The term was intended by its proponents to create a rhetorical and categorical link to racism and sexism. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2025, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/156 "2025-11-19T23:19:15Z")
I don’t know that I agree w your restrictive definition of “bigotry”. But I’m not willing to make a indepth research right here right now on my phone. If you’d feel better, just substitute “prejudice” for “bigotry” throughtout my post. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/157 "2025-11-20T01:18:30Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The term was intended by its proponents to create a rhetorical and categorical link to racism and sexism. This is an inherently incorrect and offensive link to make (me being afraid of, and not wanting to hang out with, a grizzly bear or a box jellyfish are because of a rational evaluation of the characteristics of those species not an irrational prejudice against them). But even that link is no way near as egregious as making the same rhetorical and categorical link from not liking AI to racism and sexism. Animals may not have the agency to be victims of bigotry but they are living things that can feel pain, and we have a duty to protect them from unnecessary suffering. AI is not remotely near that level, and shows no sign of getting close. No matter what the AI fantasists might say. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/158 "2025-11-20T01:34:29Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If you’d feel better, just substitute “prejudice” for “bigotry” throughtout my post And that would make it correct. But only because prejudice has a very different meaning to bigotry. It can be used as a synonym of “bigotry” but it can also be used as a synonym of “dislike”. Its perfectly correct to say I have a prejudice against Ford cars, that’s just the same thing as saying I don’t like Ford cars. It doesn’t show a moral failing on my part and doesn’t make Ford cars the victim of bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/159 "2025-11-20T06:43:13Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > They absolutely 100% cannot. Definitionally only _people_ (in the single or collective sense of the word) can be the target if bigotry. True AIs _would_ be people. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946/160 "2025-11-20T10:33:17Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > As to the specific kind, we don’t have a term yet because it hasn’t been necessary, because it hasn’t been possible. May I (snarkily) suggest _botulism_! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-racist-against-ais/1023946.md?page=9)