GoKawiilSome New York students and teachers will be returning to classrooms outfitted with an uncanny-looking — and potentially unwelcome — AI-powered assistant come September.
The Salamanca City Central School District, located roughly 60 miles south of Buffalo, signed a $57,590 contract (PDF) with robotics startup Realbotix to introduce AI tools and a humanoid robot into select technology classes in Salamanca City Central High School.
The humanoid robot, named Sally (pictured above), is one of Realbotix’s M-series models. It’s designed to mimic a human appearance, with silicone skin and a wide range of facial movements, though it’s limited to a stationary sitting position.
The Realbotix press release says that the robot “uses natural conversation, facial expressions and real-time interaction” to encourage student participation. Students will be assigned personalized ID numbers to interact with the robot, which will reportedly remember and respond to their learning data and previous questions.
In addition to the robotic teaching assistant Sally, Realbotix is integrating its Optio AI model into the school district to serve as an at-home tutor for round-the-clock homework support. The company says that both Sally and Optio are designed with education-specific safety guardrails in place.
Human educators will remain in Salamanca City Central High School’s robotics classrooms, where they’re expected to do most of the teaching and monitor the robot’s responses to students.
Optio initially will be available to high school students in AI and robotics classes, with plans to expand the program to 500 students in the fall.
“Many schools are taking the easy solution of simply banning [AI], but I have found that students will find a way around most rules that schools put in place,” Salamanca City Central District Superintendent Mark Beehler said last week in a written response to a Syracuse.com journalist. “I also believe that it is critical for schools to teach proper use of technology, not simply exclude it.”
The news spurred pushback from the teachers union and some members of the community.
“The future of education isn’t more artificial intelligence,” New York State United Teachers president Melinda Person told CNET in a written statement. “It’s more authentic human intelligence: more relationships, more mentorship and more opportunities for every child to be seen, known and inspired by a great teacher.”
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