New York district pays $58K for humanoid robot tutor, drawing teacher and parent backlash

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Salamanca City Central School District in western New York has signed a roughly $57,590 contract to deploy Sally, a humanoid robot from Toronto-based Realbotix, in select high school technology classes this fall. The robot, paired with an AI tutoring platform called Optio, is intended to provide after-hours homework help and STEM exposure rather than replace teachers, who will remain present in the classroom. The district, which serves about 1,300 students on the Allegany Indian Reservation including many Indigenous and economically disadvantaged families, argues the pilot teaches responsible AI use instead of simply banning the technology. However, the New York State United Teachers union and some parents have pushed back, saying educators were not consulted, the funds could have hired human assistants, and students should not be treated as test subjects. Questions around student data privacy agreements and the company's corporate ties to adult robotics products remain unresolved ahead of the deployment.

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