Unveiling the enigma of the 18th century, the Mechanical Turk, a marvel that challenged the boundaries of Artificial Intelligence in 1770. A journey into the past, exploring the intriguing intersection of technology, illusion, and the dawn of AI.

Mechanical Turk the AI who played chess in 1770

This machine holds the record of defeating many famous personalities like Napolean Bonaprate and Banjamin Franklin.

  • It’s a humans trait that he can do anything to get his/her love of the life
  • In 1770, a person created an automated chess machine in Vienna, Austria to impress the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria
  • The machine was so power full that it can perform the knight’s tour, a puzzle where the player has to move a knight to occupy every square of the chessboard exactly once
  • Mechanical Turk then first publically displayed in the France and there he defeated the ambassador of USA in France Benjamin Franklin
  • People started to fear the machine that it will take over the world like now we fear from AI

About the chess players of Malzel

William Lewis was the first to call himself a Grandmaster, but most of the players at the time had no money

After story of Turk

In Cuba the William Schlumberger who used to lay chess on the behalf of Turk died

  • After this the Turk was bought by American Physician John Kearsley Mitchell and kept that Turk into his museum but unfortunately in 1854 the Turk got burnt in the fire catch by the museum Mitchell arrived on the scene just in time to watch the Turk burn
  • He watched the Turk until it got turned into ash and shouted loudly “check, check, check”

The Secret behind Mechanical Turk

Edgar Allan Poe in Mlazel’s exhibition he had seen something strange or you can say someone strange, a person named William Schlumberger who is the assistant of the Malzel and helps him in the dismantling of the Turk.

  • One day when William got ill one day before the exhibition the show was canceled for the short time.
  • Edgar noticed that he saw William before and after the game but he’s never there during the game.

Working of the Turk

All the gears and mechanical stuff was just a smoke screen

  • The main intelligence or human was actually behind that there was a seat for the person to sit and due to the magnets of the chess pieces he was able to see all the moves which opponent makes
  • He was also able to make his own move with a mechanism build inside called Pantograph which mimics his hand movements

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