Yeah, I'm going to be in agreement with your friend.

It's also worth noting that even within "inorganic" species, there might be stark differences in their internal composition (and thus view of themselves). Are these an animate silicon crystal, or a "robot person"? The former might think of themselves as "the solid", in contrast to liquid-containing non-silicon life.

They might also (in either case) use a name which reflects their local name for whatever the dominant element or feature is their makeup, similar to how we refer to Earthly life as "cellular" life because it's made of cells. That said, "Mechanoids" as a foreign nickname or slur might be a fun thing.