The political right hates AI a little less than the left, but not by super much, and some forces from the emerging America First movement are getting ready to protest AI’s invasiveness and capacity for manipulation. The org is called Humans First, and they’re trying to have a 50501-style nationwide protest about it on July 18th. If both sides cooperate on this one, good things can actually happen, so this should get talked about. A lot. https://www.humansfirst.com/
I think you were right about clankers referring to the AI. It’s clear in the root comment that’s what they mean when they say “they literally aren’t people”. Also, it is common slang for robots in various media including, I think, Star Wars.
Isn’t it also slang for people who fuck robots?