Automaton

Automaton

/ôˈtämədən/

noun

1) a robot

“In telling a story one of the most successful devices for easily creating uncanny effects is to leave the reader in uncertainty whether a particular figure in the story is a human being or an automaton, and to do it in such a way that his attention is not focused directly upon his uncertainty, so that he may not be led to go into the matter and clear it up immediately.”?

— Ernst Jentsch (1867 – 1919)

2) one that acts in a mechanical or impersonal way

“[A man who joins the crowd] is no longer himself, but has become an automaton who has ceased to be guided by his will.”

— from Psychologie des Foules, by Gustave le Bon (1841 – 1931)

3) a relatively self-operating machine or control mechanism designed to follow a predetermined set of actions

“Automatons were among the most coveted and impressive pieces of jewelry of their day, in part because they combined both the jeweler’s and the watchmaker’s craft.” 

— Erin Blakemore, in an article for the Smithsonian Magazine