Before AI, there was the Mechanical Turk: The chess machine that wasn’t
The Mechanical Turk first appeared in 1770 as a chess-playing machine that astonished audiences across Europe and the Americas.
It played Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon Bonaparte, but the secret was a skilled chess player hidden inside its cabinet.
Despite widespread suspicion, the illusion endured for decades.
Its story offers a striking reminder that the impression of an autonomous mind can hide the reality behind it.
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