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Generations before sophisticated artificial intelligence was widely thought possible, automatons – elaborate machines frequently intended to mimic lifelike movements – were the closest that humans had come to simulating life. Though aspects of their underlying mechanisms date back to ancient Greece, by the 18th century, automatons had become quite sophisticated, and were used as both ‘the playthings of royalty’ and a ‘testing ground for technology’ throughout the world. Kempelen’s Chess-playing Automaton tells the strange, largely forgotten story of one of the most infamous and influential automatons ever created: the Austrian inventor Wolfgang von Kempelen’s chess-playing ‘Turk’.
Director: Alice Nelson
Producer: Sarah Tierney
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Biology
Journey deep into the Philippine forest in search of the world’s largest, rarest eagle
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Art
What does an AI make of what it sees in a contemporary art museum?
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Fairness and equality
How the first woman of colour to be elected to the US Congress remade education
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History of ideas
Tantra is, and was, a subversive philosophy of feminine power
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Rituals and celebrations
From roaring fire and molten glass an artist creates a healing ritual
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Ecology and environmental sciences
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Archaeology
Ancient Greek sculptures were colourful. Why does the white marble ideal persist?
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Astronomy
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Economics
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