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10 Modern ‘Mechanical Turks’: When Automation Is Just Humans in Disguise

A young boy in England operating a thread-making machine in 1909.
A young boy in England operating a thread-making machine in 1909. Photo: Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive (Getty Images)

Amazon’s grocery stores ditched their “Just Walk Out” technology on Tuesday, though it turned out the automated checkout system included 1,000 reviewers in India. However, this is hardly the only example of times when automation breakthroughs were truly powered by human workers in hiding – a phenomenon known as “The Mechanical Turk.” – Maxwell Zeff Read More

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