Imitation in automata and robots: A philosophical case study on Kempelen

With robots being of far-ranging public and academic interest, attempts are made to set these into relation to earlier self-moving machines. Automata from European Enlightenment, especially in the 18th century, are such machines being referenced. The debate revolves around the question whether the design and the purpose of the construction of these automata can be viewed as antedating epistemological conceptualizations formulated with regards to the scientific employment of robotics as a synthetic modeling practice in contemporary life sciences. This paper reflects on a claim made in this context, namely that the construction of 18th century automata and 21st century robots share the epistemic role of simulating the core processes of living organisms and are thus indicative of an epistemological continuity in how organisms are conceived as machines. To philosophically investigate whether such a statement is taking changes in material, political, and technological conditions into account, a case study of Kempelen's Sprechmaschine from 1791 is done. The paper asserts that it should be historicized what makes a machine fit the concept of an automaton--and thus also poses the broader question what extent of caution must be taken in identifying automata with robots.