New York high school pauses plan for AI robot teacher that looks suspiciously like a RealDoll

A high school in New York was set on installing an AI-equipped humanoid robot there this fall, but the Salamanca City Central School District has paused the plan after public outrage. Privacy and cost concerns were raised, but it was also suggested that the uncanny "Sally" might be a RealDoll in a cardigan: supplier Realbotix bought the manufacturer of the silicone dolls in 2024. It insists that Sally is a "newly manufactured, purpose-built educational unit."

The school board approved a $57,590 contract with Realbotix in June for the robot. The pitch presentation, which you can watch at that link, was AI slop:

The Guardian reports that teachers criticized the program as inappropriate and dehumanizing.

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.

About 500 high schoolers attend the school, located on the Seneca Nation of Indians reservation. Realbotix CEO Andrew Kiguel reportedly called Salamanca its flagship deployment.

New York Focus was first to report the purchase earlier this month. The district said Sally would run on a closed system with no audio or video recording, no facial recognition, no internet access and no data sent to Realbotix; students would log in with ID codes so the robot could resume prior conversations.

This didn't stop negative publicity, and the district announced the pause on Facebook, citing enhanced data privacy agreements to be worked out with the state.

A big part of the problem is that much Realbotix design and marketing to date is blatant, such as the "F" series model below. Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers, said a robot built by a company associated with sex dolls has no business in classrooms. Realbotix, formerly Tokens.com, pivoted from Web3, crypto staking and the metaverse to buy RealDoll owner Simulacra for $16.7 million in 2024.

Salamanca is not the first district to court controversy with robot teachers: an Altus charter school in San Diego spent $500,000 on two ChatGPT-driven Ameca robots, despite researchers noting no independent evidence such machines improve learning.

If the lessons children learn are the concern, here's one for the adults: attend your public meetings (or watch them online) so you can see what your board members are being sold on on before they cut the checks.

Western New York School District Hits Pause on Robot Teacher Amid Scrutiny [New York Focus]