A Brief History of the Mechanical Turk
Step back to 1770, when Wolfgang von Kempelen unveiled “The Mechanical Turk,” a mesmerizing chess-playing automaton that confounded Europe and the Americas for decades. Spectators—including Napoleon and Benjamin Franklin—were convinced they were facing a thinking machine. But behind the elaborate cabinet and lifelike mannequin sat a hidden chess master, orchestrating the deception through cleverly designed false compartments and concealed levers. The Mechanical Turk’s enduring legacy spurred early debates on artificial intelligence and even inspired modern technological innovations, from Charles Babbage’s proto-computers to Amazon’s “Mechanical Turk” crowdsourcing platform. Join us on a journey through one of history’s most ingenious hoaxes that still shapes how we view machines—and ourselves—today.
Read More
