NEW YORK \u2013 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’s ties to a company that produces hyper realistic sex bots.<\/p>\n
The Salamanca City Central School District’s board approved the nearly $60,000 purchase<\/a> from Realbotix with visions that \u201cSally,\u201d as the stationary robot with long brown hair has already been nicknamed, would enhance the education of high school students studying robotics and technology fields. <\/p>\n \u201cHaving a difficult time programming an Arduino board? Don\u2019t even know what an Arduino board is? Ask Sally and she can explain it,\u201d Superintendent Mark Beehler, said Tuesday. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n But as news spread in the small community located on the Seneca Nation of Indians reservation, parents and teachers worried about how students’ personal information would be used. Unionized teachers took aim at Realbotix’s sex doll sister company, even as district officials and the company itself stressed the two manufacturers operate independently. <\/p>\n \u201cA robot built by a company associated with sex dolls has no business in our classrooms,\u201d said Melinda Person, president of the labor union New York State United Teachers.<\/p>\n For now, the robot pilot remains on hold as the district works through \u201cenhanced student data privacy agreements\u201d with the state education officials and continues outreach to the community, according to a statement the district posted Friday<\/a> on its Facebook page.<\/p>\n State officials and teacher voice concerns<\/p>\n State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said she remained concerned about the robot\u2019s role in the classroom even after her staff met with district officials.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough you confirmed that the robot would not have any role delivering classroom instruction, a recent presentation to the board characterized the robot as a \u2018tutoring platform,’ \u201d Rosa wrote in a letter to the district Friday.<\/p>\n She also echoed residents\u2019 concerns about what data privacy and security protections would be in place. <\/p>\n Unionized teachers, meanwhile, suggested the effort was a first step toward replacing, flesh-and-bone educators. \u201cSally\u201d will be able to move her arms and hands but have nonworking legs. <\/p>\n \u201cOur students don\u2019t need robots,” Person said. “They need real relationships with caring adults.\u201d<\/p>\n District officials defend robot purchase<\/p>\n Beehler stressed the pilot, which also includes rollout of a virtual, AI-powered teacher\u2019s assistant<\/a> and at-home tutoring program, is not about replacing staff. <\/p>\n \u201cThere is no possible way a robot can replace a human in a school,\u201d he said Tuesday. \u201cEven if it were possible, it would in no way be in the best interest of students. Teaching is a human-to-human process.\u201d<\/p>\n Beehler, who was connected to Realbotix through a former colleague, said the Las Vegas-based company was a natural fit for because its robots are already programmed with WozEd, a curriculum from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak that the district uses. <\/p>\n Last year, a San Diego charter school rolled out two AI-powered robots<\/a> purchased from Engineered Arts, a robotics company based in the United Kingdom, for $500,000.<\/p>\n Salamanca Schools, in social media posts<\/a>, stressed that \u201cSally\u201d won\u2019t be collecting students\u2019 personal information, recording audio or video of its interactions or sending data back to Realbotix. <\/p>\n The robot also has been programmed to steer clear of inappropriate topics such as sex, violence and gambling, and it won\u2019t be able to search the public internet or draw answers from unvetted generative AI services.<\/p>\n Instead, all information on \u201cSally\u201d 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 Robot maker responds to criticism <\/p>\n Realbotix added Tuesday that student authentication would be handled through the district\u2019s existing systems, and any student-linked information would remain encrypted and under the district\u2019s control.<\/p>\n The company also pushed back at suggestions that \u201cSally\u201d was simply a repurposed sex doll, saying it was a \u201cnewly manufactured, purpose-built educational unit\u201d with no modified or repurposed hardware. <\/p>\n The school\u2019s robot comes from Realbotix LLC, which focuses on healthcare, education and other on-adult 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 \u201cworld\u2019s most advanced sex robot.\u201d <\/p>\n