自己會動的機器
這一支就是畫面本身：真的上發條、真的會動的那個東西。
noun · C1
A machine that moves by itself, with nobody working it, following a fixed set of steps. It is often built in the shape of a person or an animal.
自動機械；機械人偶
核心畫面
Think of something that has been wound up and let go. Once it starts, it runs the same steps in the same order, and nobody is standing there deciding what comes next. The interesting part is not the movement itself but the missing hand: no one is steering. Everything this word covers keeps that shape — the steps are fixed, and the choosing has been taken out.
可以想成一個上好發條、然後被放開的東西。一旦開始，它就照同樣的順序走同樣的步驟，旁邊沒有人在決定下一步。真正的重點不…更多收起
可以想成一個上好發條、然後被放開的東西。一旦開始，它就照同樣的順序走同樣的步驟，旁邊沒有人在決定下一步。真正的重點不是「會動」，而是「少了一隻手」——沒有人在操控。這個字的每個用法都保留這個形狀：步驟是固定的，選擇被拿掉了。From the word’s history
From Ancient Greek autómaton, the neuter of autómatos 'self-moving, self-willed'; a doublet of automat.
來自古希臘文 autómaton，是 autómatos（自己會動、自己有意志的）的中性形；和 automat 同源。
Wiktionary 'automaton' etymology, supplied in the evidence packet (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:379110097)
Three branches
像機器一樣的人
把同一個畫面放到人身上：動作還在跑，決定的那隻手不見了。
noun · C1
A person who seems to act like a machine: doing the same things again and again, showing no feeling, and not thinking about what they are doing.
像機器一樣的人
紙上的抽象機器
把畫面抽到只剩規則：沒有零件，但「照固定步驟自己走完」這件事完全保留。
noun · C2
In computing and mathematics, a model of a machine that exists only as a set of rules: it has a number of states, and each input moves it from one state to the next.
自動機（數學／電腦科學）