AI Unlocks Napoleon’s Coded Letter After 217 Years

An engineer at a cybersecurity company has used artificial intelligence to decipher a mysterious letter written by French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte 217 years ago.

The breakthrough brings modern computing to bear on a message from more than two centuries in the past, linking cybersecurity expertise with a historical puzzle.

The brief account of the discovery did not identify the engineer or the company. It also provided no details about the AI system used or how it helped decode the letter.

The contents of the deciphered message were not disclosed in the summary, leaving its historical significance unclear. Further details would be needed to establish what the letter reveals and how the reading was verified.