Thanks for agreeing to this AMA, Professor Truitt.

One thing that always stuck with me from Will Durant's History of Civilization series were his mentions of dolls and complex moving statues that existed in Egypt during late antiquity and in the Byzantine Empire well into the Middle Ages.

If I recall correctly, he mentions a steam powered toy in the case of Egypt and a mechanical lion next to the throne of the Emperor in the case of Byzantium. Also something about a tree with birds that chirped and actually made sounds, all based on complex machinery.

How true are these claims? Have any of them survived so we can study how they were made? Why did this knowledge never, seemingly, get applied to other fields?

Thanks!

Welcome, Dr. Truitt! This is a fascinating subject.

1. Does your research extend to less corporeal "machines" like the Arabic zairja or the Ars Magna of Ramon Lull? I've heard it said that these are sometimes viewed as early attempts (however abstract) at creating a sort of "programming language," and it intrigues me (if so) to see them cropping up around the time that the pieces of hardware you mention were being developed.

2. Do you have a personal favourite medieval automaton? Which and why, if so?

3. Much more frivolous, but: what do you think of Festo's ongoing work on authentically-motioned animal robots? Their SmartBird is a thing of beauty, to give but one example.

Who usually built this automata? Single inventors? Teams of people with different background?

Blacksmiths? Engineers? Jewelry makers? Alchemists? Priests?

Thanks for your time, Dr. Truitt. I have two questions.

Question 1: Did the prospect of automata inspire the same kind of soul-searching (and fear) in the medieval period that AI inspires today?

Today discussions of automata frequently evolve into discussions of the Big Questions (the future of humanity, what it means to be human, etc.) as well as the security threat automata could pose (see: almost every discussion of AI ever).

Question 2: What about China?

In your History Today piece you mention that the interest in artificial people stretches back to ancient China. This is fascinating. Could you elaborate? What era are we talking about? Was anything built, or was it confined to the literary realm? Did ancient Chinese write about the philosophical ramifications of people making people?

Thank you for doing this AMA! This is a really fascinating topic that you cover! Doing some quick perusing, it seems that Automata were definitely something associated to a good degree with the East - Byzantium and Arabia especially - so I have a few questions from this:

Firstly, perhaps, is simply how true this observation is! Were there notable creations during the Middle Ages in the "West"?

Assuming not, how did visitors from more western lands react upon encountering them, and more importantly, how did they understand them? For someone encountering an Automata with no foreknowledge, what was it to them? Was there any real belief that this was alive by the uninitiated? And of course, how did the creators themselves view their creations in this regard? Obviously they would know of the mechanical inner-workings, but did they believe that had created something that was more than the sum of its parts, so to speak?

The mechanical Turk pretended to be an automata but was actually powered by a hidden human. Are there other similar examples of faked automata?

Thank you so much for doing this AMA and introducing me to such a fascinating topic, Professor Truitt!

I apologize if this question is too broad, but, can you think of a notable religious reaction to automata? Was making these ever outright prohibited or frowned upon?

If you were giving a hypothetical "big sweep" lecture class on the history of science and technology (say, at a small engineering school in Hoboken, NJ)... what would be the big points you'd be trying to get across to students about the medieval mind, esp. regarding science and technology? How would you integrate some of your fantastical descriptions of automata into that narrative?

"Asking for a friend..." :-)

(This is A.W., obviously.)

Hi Elly! I loved your book, I read it in some research I was doing on history of the body before I ended up doing history of sexuality.

I'm curious, and apologies if this is out of your realm, about what position you think modern "sex dolls" occupy on the continuum and history of automata and "robots"?

My second question is what you think about the Renaissance automaton museum in Morristown NJ if you've had a chance to visit it? Any other museums you recommend?

Were the famed mechanical lions and birds surrounding the Byzantine throne real?

If so, by what mechanism did the birds sing and lions roar?

I'm signing off now, but I'll check back in periodically. Thank you for your perceptive questions!

Hey. I've never been properly introduced to Medieval Robots before and it's cool to see this AMA. :)

Was this kind of 'robot technology' every used in relation to war or other combat related fields (like tournaments, training, etc.)?

Thank you. :)

This is a wonderful subject! Thanks for doing an AMA about it.

A book I read recently claimed that the famous Byzantine automata (mechanical birds singing in golden trees, etc.) came to the Empire from the Arabs (as did Byzantine water-clocks), and that the Byzantines were not technologically innovative in this area. To what extent is this true?

What are some of the most interesting of the medieval automata?

Could you discuss in greater detail the nature of the a link in the medieval imagination between the idea of mechanical autonoma and other more supernatural beings like demons?

The idea seems absurdly Prattchett-like to me as a 21st-century person, but clearly it was a compelling notion to thinkers and writers of the 11th-14th centuries.

I've heard of the automata existing in the Byzantine court, which included steam-powered animals in various poses, as well as the Emperor's throne being on a raising platform that operated with steam.

Seeing as Byzantium was one of the leading countries for innovation in Europe at the time, how come did this technology never make it to more practical applications, like loading platforms, elevators or even musical instruments?

The drawings of mechanisms of 18th c. automata that I have seen show some extremely simple movements. Most relied on stepped cam wheels that then pushed rods, those sometimes attached to bell cranks to operate other rods. The advantages for this are obvious- the builder could make wooden cam wheels and tinker with the height and length and number of the bumps until they were right, add more cam wheels for more rods, bell cranks, and if something durable was needed, could duplicate the wood wheel in brass. They seemed like near relations to the carillon mechanisms in Belgian churches, really . Is this basic cam + pushrod also what you find in earlier automata?

I should say that sometimes the cam wheel/pushrod would operate a bellows, to blow a whistle and make a bird sing...I imagine those would have been around as well.

Hello, early birds! This AMA is going up early but answers will not be forthcoming until tomorrow. Please feel free to ask away with that in mind.

From what I'm reading it seems like automatas were built and used mainly for artistic reasons, a few for engineering purposes. Were there any instances of automatas being used in scientifics experiments/settings?

Would there have been a political use to automata? Not just as a toy, but for impressing poorer or less technologically advanced rivals? In particular, I'm wondering about the potential effects of the Byzantine throne.