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  • Muse: The magazine of science, culture, and smart laughs for kids and children

    ROOKED!

    Oct 01, 2022 3 minutes
    by Nick D’Alto

    In 1783, American inventor and diplomat Benjamin Franklin played chess against an automaton—a mechanical device made to look and act like a person. The faux human matched Franklin, move for move. Until, amazingly, the robot won. In 1809, it even beat Napoléon Bonaparte. (Yes, that Napoléon—the military general and emperor of France!) Is it possible? Did some forgotten genius invent a thinking humanoid machine, centuries ago? No. But the real answer is even more astonishing.

    Welcome to the true story of the Turk, one of tech

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