{"id":21068,"date":"2026-07-29T15:36:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=21068"},"modified":"2026-07-29T15:36:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:36:46","slug":"new-york-school-pauses-plan-to-deploy-humanlike-ai-robot-teacher-after-backlash-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=21068","title":{"rendered":"New York school pauses plan to deploy humanlike AI robot teacher after backlash : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"storytext\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-136073\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 4395;&#10;        --source-height: 2930;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2930+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"FILE - A Realbotix humanoid robot, center, speaks with attendees at a Realbotix booth during the CES tech show Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas.\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                FILE &#8211; A Realbotix humanoid robot, center, speaks with attendees at a Realbotix booth during the CES tech show Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Abbie Parr\/AP<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><br \/>\n              <svg class=\"icon icon--info\"><use href=\"#icon-info\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n              <b>toggle caption<\/b><br \/>\n            <\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Abbie Parr\/AP<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>NEW YORK \u2014 A school district in a rural corner of upstate New York is hitting pause on plans to deploy an AI-powered, humanoid robot in the classroom after state education officials, teachers and local residents raised concerns, including the maker&#8217;s ties to a company that produces hyper realistic sex bots.<\/p>\n<p>The Salamanca City Central School District&#8217;s board approved the nearly $60,000 purchase from Realbotix with visions that &#8220;Sally,&#8221; as the stationary robot with long dark hair has already been nicknamed, would enhance the education of high school students studying robotics and technology fields.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Having a difficult time programming an Arduino board? Don&#8217;t even know what an Arduino board is? Ask Sally and she can explain it,&#8221; Superintendent Mark Beehler, said Tuesday. &#8220;The robot also provides opportunities for students to learn how the robot is maintained, how it is updated with new approved content, and how to troubleshoot issues.&#8221;<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-backstage-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap backstage\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>But as news spread in the small community located on the Seneca Nation of Indians reservation, parents and teachers worried about how students&#8217; personal information would be used. Unionized teachers took aim at Realbotix&#8217;s sex doll sister company, even as district officials and the company itself stressed the two manufacturers operate independently.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A robot built by a company associated with sex dolls has no business in our classrooms,&#8221; said Melinda Person, president of the labor union New York State United Teachers.<\/p>\n<p>For now, the robot pilot remains on hold as the district works through &#8220;enhanced student data privacy agreements&#8221; with the state education officials and continues outreach to the community, according to a statement the district posted Friday on its Facebook page.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\">State officials and teacher voice concerns<\/h3>\n<p>State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said she remained concerned about the robot&#8217;s role in the classroom even after her staff met with district officials.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Although you confirmed that the robot would not have any role delivering classroom instruction, a recent presentation to the board characterized the robot as a &#8216;tutoring platform,&#8217; &#8221; Rosa wrote in a letter to the district Friday.<\/p>\n<p>She also echoed residents&#8217; concerns about what data privacy and security protections would be in place.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-secondary-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap secondary\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<aside id=\"mid-story-recommendations-mount-piano\" class=\"mid-story-recommendations-mount-piano\" aria-label=\"recommended stories\"\/>\n<!-- END ID=\"MID-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT-PIANO\" CLASS=\"MID-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT-PIANO\" ARIA-LABEL=\"RECOMMENDED STORIES\" --><\/p>\n<p>Unionized teachers, meanwhile, suggested the effort was a first step toward replacing, flesh-and-bone educators. &#8220;Sally&#8221; will be able to move her arms and hands but have nonworking legs.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our students don&#8217;t need robots,&#8221; Person said. &#8220;They need real relationships with caring adults.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\">District officials defend robot purchase<\/h3>\n<p>Beehler stressed the pilot, which also includes rollout of a virtual, AI-powered teacher&#8217;s assistant and at-home tutoring program, is not about replacing staff.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There is no possible way a robot can replace a human in a school,&#8221; he said Tuesday. &#8220;Even if it were possible, it would in no way be in the best interest of students. Teaching is a human-to-human process.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Beehler, who was connected to Realbotix through a former colleague, said the Las Vegas-based company was a natural fit because its robots are already programmed with WozEd, a curriculum from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak that the district uses.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, a San Diego charter school rolled out two AI-powered robots purchased from Engineered Arts, a robotics company based in the United Kingdom, for $500,000.<\/p>\n<p>Salamanca Schools, in social media posts, stressed that &#8220;Sally&#8221; won&#8217;t be collecting students&#8217; personal information, recording audio or video of its interactions or sending data back to Realbotix.<\/p>\n<p>The robot also has been programmed to steer clear of inappropriate topics such as sex, violence and gambling, and it won&#8217;t be able to search the public internet or draw answers from unvetted generative AI services.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, all information on &#8220;Sally&#8221; will be stored locally, with the life-sized robot consuming roughly the same amount of energy as a laptop, according to the district.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\">Robot maker responds to criticism<\/h3>\n<p>Realbotix added Tuesday that student authentication would be handled through the district&#8217;s existing systems, and any student-linked information would remain encrypted and under the district&#8217;s control.<\/p>\n<p>The company also pushed back at suggestions that &#8220;Sally&#8221; was simply a repurposed sex doll, saying it was a &#8220;newly manufactured, purpose-built educational unit&#8221; with no modified hardware.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-third-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap third\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The school&#8217;s robot comes from Realbotix LLC, which focuses on healthcare, education and other nonadult commercial applications. A sister company, Intima LLC, holds an ownership stake in RealDoll, a longtime maker of sex dolls, including a line of AI-powered models billed as the &#8220;world&#8217;s most advanced sex robot.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Realbotix LLC and Intima LLC have different product offerings with no crossover,&#8221; the company said in a statement last week. &#8220;The two subsidiaries maintain their own management, personnel, payroll, facilities, manufacturing operations, product development, and market strategies.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\">Some residents remain wary<\/h3>\n<p>Beehler argued that it is crucial for isolated districts like Salamanca, which is located along the Allegheny River near the Pennsylvania state line, to find new ways to introduce cutting-edge products into classrooms.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In most cases, our students need to travel 1-2 hours to have opportunities to see emergent technology,&#8221; he said Tuesday. &#8220;One of the intents of the robot is to help level the playing field and motivate students to continue studying robotics, AI, and STEAM related career pathways.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Some Salamanca residents, though, remain unconvinced.<\/p>\n<p>Joplin Ficek, who graduated from Salamanca High School in 2024 and now works at a daycare, said she doesn&#8217;t see any reason to have robots or AI take such a prominent role at her alma mater at all.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They just need to hire more people who are willing to put in the effort for the children,&#8221; Ficek said. &#8220;They need more interaction with the children than having some robot raise our kids.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FILE &#8211; A Realbotix humanoid robot, center, speaks with attendees at a Realbotix booth during the CES tech show Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. Abbie Parr\/AP hide caption toggle caption Abbie Parr\/AP NEW YORK \u2014 A school district in a rural corner of upstate New York is hitting pause on plans to deploy an&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4395x2472+0+229\/resize\/1400\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4c%2Fd5342e3e4bf0857b9e9d534b95ff%2Fap26209715636264.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}