‘Really inappropriate’: teachers decry plan for humanoid robot in New York high school

A Realbotix robot at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A Realbotix robot at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images ‘Really inappropriate’: teachers decry plan for humanoid robot in New York high school Robot from company that acquired sex doll maker to be introduced in school with large Native American population A humanoid robot is being introduced as part of a pilot program, along with an AI teaching assistant, at Salamanca high school in Salamanca, New York, located on the Allegany territory of the Seneca nation. Teachers have criticized the program, deeming it “inappropriate” and claiming it dehumanizes the profession with the introduction of human-like robots. Some local Native American residents have also criticized the pilot program, citing its implementation as “culturally tone deaf”. The robot, named Sally, was purchased by the Cattaraugus county school district – which includes Salamanca high school – for $57,590. According to a presentation on the program, Sally will be a closed-loop system, but available virtually to students 24/7 for those with access, and offers personalized learning options. The district will be the first in the US to deploy a humanoid robot and AI teaching assistant, according to a press release by Realbotix. “The Salamanca pilot also includes deployment of a Realbotix M-Series humanoid robot, which uses natural conversation, facial expressions and real-time interaction to create engaging, hands-on learning experiences,” the press release states. Realbotix, formerly Tokens.com, a Toronto-based company, purchased Simulacra , a Las Vegas-based company known for realistic sex dolls, for $16.7m in April 2024, marking a pivot for the company from crypto to humanoid robots. Realbotix has denied ties to the sex doll company, and denied any inferences that the dolls – manufactured by Abyss Creations, a subsidiary of Realbotix – are related to the pilot program. “The Salamanca teachers’ union as a whole is concerned about the background of the company of Realbotix. We’re very concerned about the security of the software that they’re implementing, and whether or not the data will be stored, how it will be gathered, are the recording capabilities,” said Lacey Pihlblad, president of Salamanca Teachers’ Association and a teacher at the high school. “We would like to see the school district pause implementing the robot, pause implementing the software aspect of this AI technology until we can have more individuals weigh in.” She said New York state is currently shifting away from too much technology in the classroom. “There’s a growing consensus that indicates our students should be exposed to less technology. Placing a humanoid robot into the classroom to interact with our children, I believe, is a massive step in the wrong direction, and I believe that the majority of our te