Every part of our lives is a result of humans co-evolving with tech
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Wise Animals
Tom Chatfield (Pan Macmillan)
IN 1770, inventor Wolfgang von Kempelen claimed to have created a machine that could skilfully play chess against human opponents. Known as the Mechanical Turk, his contraption defeated many challengers, including Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin, and caused much amazement and debate about how it worked. It was eventually exposed as a hoax, however, with a human chess master hiding inside.
The Mechanical Turk raises intriguing questions about how humans perceive technology,…
