clanker

This has been a derogatory term in science fiction since the 1950s for a robot because they were seen as crude creations that made a clanking sound as they went on their way.  It was popularised by the Star Wars video game Star Wars: Republic Commando.  Now it is being used for robots that are taking over jobs from human beings, and for the AI-governed chatbots that are taking over customer service, much to the dismay of the customers on the receiving end and the human beings that used to fulfil that service function.

We are now so sensitised to derogatory words and discrimination that there is speculation that we may, in the future,  be sorry for calling bots clankers.  When they become more numerous that we are, and we have to give them more respect, we may even ban the c-word.