A school district in rural western New York has paused plans to place a humanoid, AI-powered robot in a high school classroom following backlash from parents and teachers.
The Salamanca City Central School District had approved a $60,000 stationary humanoid robot from the company Realbotix. The robot, nicknamed “Sally” by students, features long dark hair and functional arms and hands but lacks legs. Superintendent Mark Beehler described the purchase as a means to address educational gaps for students in an isolated community, stating that “Sally” could assist with technical skills such as circuit board programming and provide hands-on experience in robotics and AI fields they might otherwise access only through long commutes.
The initiative faced immediate opposition after news spread beyond the district. An independent report first detailed the pilot program in late July. Parents in the small community, located on the Seneca Nation of Indians reservation, expressed concerns about how their children’s data would be collected and used by the private technology vendor.
These fears are valid as major technology companies aggressively deploy AI tools, robots, and “personalized learning” platforms in schools. Companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple have pushed these technologies into classrooms. Platforms like Khan Academy share student data with Big Tech firms. Each interaction builds profiles on students’ habits, knowledge gaps, and behaviors. Privacy safeguards are often ineffective as data flows to private vendors, turning public schools into surveillance centers.
The backlash intensified when it was revealed that Realbotix also manufactures hyper-realistic sex robots under a separate product line. Melinda Person, president of the state teachers union, stated that “a robot built by a company associated with sex dolls has no business in our classrooms.” While district officials and the company maintained that the two product lines operate independently, this association proved difficult to address publicly.
State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa also raised concerns in a letter to the district, noting that despite meetings with officials, her department remained uneasy about the robot’s classroom role. The district confirmed in a statement that the pilot is on hold while it works on “enhanced student data privacy agreements.”
