The Writing Boy: Pierre Jaquet-Droz’s 18th-Century Automaton That Paved the Way for Modern Robotics
When Machines First Learned to Write In the late 18th century — long before the age of computers or artificial intelligence — a Swiss watchmaker named Pierre Jaquet-Droz crafted a marvel that would astonish the courts of Europe. It was called “The Writing Boy”, a lifelike automaton designed to mimic human handwriting with stunning precision….
