AI Teacher Dream Shattered? U.S. School District Emergency Halts Robot Teacher Program Due to Controversy Over Developer's Dive into Sex Robots

July 30th, the Central School District in Salamanca, Western New York, announced the suspension of the pilot program to introduce the AI humanoid robot teacher "Sally" in the new semester. The robot, developed by Realbotix, has a price of approximately $60,000 per unit and was planned to interact with students as a classroom assistant.

The project had previously raised parental concerns about student data privacy issues. Subsequently, some parents pointed out that Realbotix also produces sex robot products for intimate companionship, further fueling the controversy. In addition, the local teachers' union has expressed opposition to the plan.

The district stated that the project is currently suspended. They will continue to work with the New York State Department of Education to improve student data privacy agreements and stay in communication with the community. District Superintendent Mark Beehler emphasized that robots cannot replace teachers, stating that "teaching is always a human-to-human process," and substituting robots for teachers is not in the best interests of students.