人机

What does 人机 mean?

Text a friend something personal and get back one emoji at the same hour every day, and someone in the group will call him a 人机. The word originally meant a computer-controlled bot in a video game; as slang it labels real people who behave like one. That covers the teammate whose play is bad and predictable, and just as often the friend whose replies come pre-packaged or who misses every social cue. '你个人机' ('you bot') is the standard teasing jab, and 人机感 names the mechanical, soulless quality itself. It stays lighthearted, and its opposite is 活人感, the sense that a real, lively person is behind the message.

Where does 人机 come from?

Chinese gaming has used 人机 for years to mean the AI opponents in player-versus-computer modes, which are reliably weak and readable. In 2024 '你个人机' turned into a widespread meme for teasing actual people who act like those opponents, carried along by livestreams and short videos.

How to use 人机

• 你回消息怎么跟人机一样？
  Nǐ huí xiāoxi zěnme gēn rén jī yíyàng?
  Why do you text like a bot?
• 这队友操作太人机了。
  Zhè duìyǒu cāozuò tài rén jī le.
  This teammate plays like a total bot.