Part 3. Scary is an Automaton

Kenji Kazama

Automata have a long history.

In general, sophisticated clocks created at the end of the Middle Ages tend to be considered as the original automatic machines. However, people¡Çs enthusiasm for machine production can date back to ancient times. Remains of complex gear machines were already discovered in the early Babylonian and Chinese civilizations. Those seemed to be parts of astronomical devices.

Ancient people¡Çs enthusiasm for mechanical devices included the desire to imitate the natural world and to practice God - the Creator¡Çs intentions by themselves. In 1 A.D., astronomical clocks, including water clocks and sundials, already existed and their main roles were to imply aesthetic and religious meaning and to imitate celestial movements, never to announce the time.

The first magnificent and sophisticated astronomical clock intended as a simulacrum of the universe of the Creator was invented in Padua, Italy in 1364. At that time, it was an epoch-making device that displayed astronomical data by its arrangement of planets orbiting around the earth.

Apart from practical automata, there are those that satisfy people¡Çs special enthusiasm for an automaton with a figure of a creature (particularly a human being); some Greek myths will explain its origin.

Let¡Çs take the stories of Hephaistos and Daidalos as examples. The former constructed two mechanical beautiful women as care workers for his weakening legs and an iron giant, Talos, as guard. The latter, which is well known as the founder of the labyrinth of Crete and father of Ikaros, created mechanical dolls and a sex machine modeled as a bull for a lewd wife of Minos in Crete. For your reference, a son born from the union of the lewd wife and the mechanical bull is the monster Minotauros.

From those mentioned above, the admiration for automata is classified roughly into two types. One is to simulate the universe itself, and the other is to reproduce life, particularly human beings.

As a genealogy of the latter ¡Æartificial human beings¡Ç, the following people are widely known: Pygmalion of the Greek myth, Golem of the Jewish myth, the question-answering robot by Albertus Magnus (Schoolman in the Middle Age and alchemist), and the Homunculus by Philippus Aureolus Palacelsus (Doctor and alchemist). Furthermore, mechanical dolls called ¡Èmechanical wooden men¡É existed in China in the Han times. Its techniques were introduced to Japan and mechanical dolls as toys and shows were created from the 7th century. Famous examples are the automata dolls of the Hidatakayama Festival.

Automata, which used to simulate the universe with celestial bodies, developed into mechanical production on the model of logical thinking along with development of mathematics and physical science in the modern age: that is, theoretical mechanical devices leading to A.I. and the computers today. This development extends from a thinking machine called ¡Èars magna¡É by a Spanish mystic, Raimundus Lulls; a calculator that was able to add and subtract by Blaise Pascal; a theoretical thinking device by Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (This ended at the phase of planning.); to the difference engine by Charles Babbage in Britain.

On the other hand, automaton techniques that simulated life certainly developed beyond the realm of legend, mythology, and magic art. In this area, first or foremost, genius Leonard da Vinci must be mentioned. He created a prototype lion that moved around like a real one and presented it to Francois I. Another genius, Father Athanasius Kircher in Society of Jesus, produced a carved statue that prophesied, moving the eyes, lips and tongue.

Although I am not sure whether it is true or not, Rene Descartes is said that he always carried a five-year-old automaton girl doll named Francine in his trunk, This is a well-known rumour that suits the father of modern western rationalism, who regarded animals as sophisticated clockwork machines in terms of the dualism that separated the spirit and the flesh.

Rene Descartes¡Ç theory advocated in ¡ÈDiscourse de la methode (Discourse on method)¡É and ¡ÈLes passions de lame (The passions of the soul)¡É is that animals and human beings are merely machines, but what completely differs from machines is the spirit existing inside; and a universe viewed as a systematized automatic clock represented by Isaac Newton led to production of "L¡ÇHomme Machine¡É by Julien Offray de La Mettrie in the 18th century. Accordingly, the philosophy of the Enlightenment ruled by rational spirit, reason and automata entered the golden age.

The principle of the automaton is the simulacrum of the Creator¡Çs intention, but its meanings changed as time passed; in ancient times, it carried aesthetic and religious implications; in the Middle Ages, as a highly valued stimulation to sharpen sense amazingly; in modern times, as toys and shows to bring people pleasure.

The most famous contemporary craftsman was Jacques de Vaucanson. His automatic duck was able to walk, eat, drink water, and swim. A great writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and a Romantic writer, Achim von Arnim, observed this ¡È most astonishing machine ever created¡É.

In addition, a mechanical engineer, Robert Maillart, who produced a small singing hummingbird and writing and drawing of a boy-doll automaton, is famous; however, the Drozes, Piert Jacquet-Droz (father) and Henri-Louis Jacquet-Droz (son) are better known as Jacques de Vaucanson¡Ç rivals.

The Drozes produced several automata, including bleating sheep, a barking dog, a girl playing the harpsichord and a writing boy. As those automata were extremely sophisticated and resembled real animals, the Drozes were sent to a heretical inquisition prison as suspected magicians and were to be prosecuted. An interesting anecdote was that the writing boy produced by the Drozes wrote the following phrase, ¡È I don¡Çt think, therefore I am not?¡É, parodying ¡ÈCogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am)¡É by Rene Descartes.

Another well-known story is about a large number of automaton dolls created by Wolfgang von Kempelen, the Viennese Privy Councillor. For whom especially a ¡ÈSpeaking doll,¡É a writing doll, and a chess-playing doll earned a good reputation. This chess-playing doll was brought to America and sent to various parts of the country in shows. Then, Edgar Allan Poe discovered that the mechanism of the chess doll was counterfeit, as what is called "Maelzel¡Çs Chess Player¡É.

As I have run out of space I will stop dealing with automata for a while and explain three works inspired by the Chess Playing doll next time: ¡ÈAutomata Dolls¡É (in the Sand Man) by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffman, "Maelzel¡Çs Chess Player¡É by Edgar Allan Poe, and ¡ÈMoxon¡Çs Master¡É by Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce.