When students return to school this fall in the Salamanca City Central School District in Western New York, a new kind of teacher will be ready to greet them. The small, rural district located on the Seneca Nation reservation is set to be one of the first in the country to put a humanoid robot in a classroom. It will not replace the classroom teacher, but is programmed to provide learning support to both students and educators. 

At a board meeting last month, the Cattaraugus County school district agreed to purchase the robot from Realbotix, a tech company, along with an artificial intelligence teacher鈥檚 assistant program allowing students to interact with an avatar of the robot on laptops. 

鈥淭his deployment in a working school district represents a landmark moment for both AI and humanoid robotics,鈥� said Andrew Kiguel, CEO of Realbotix, which is currently building the robot. 鈥淪alamanca marks the beginning of a new era where humanoid robots and intelligent AI assistants become standard tools in STEM 别诲耻肠补迟颈辞苍.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

The female robot, named Sally, will have a 鈥渓ifelike appearance鈥� with silicone skin and long brown hair, Kiguel said in an interview with New York Focus. It will be stationary in a seated position but have a wide range of upper-body movements and facial expressions.

Students will use a unique identification code when interacting with the robot during class, allowing it to access their learning data and provide personalized support based on their past communication with the avatar, Kiguel said. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l be able to say, 鈥楬ey, I鈥檓 student number 1234,鈥� and then the robot will be like, 鈥楬ey, we were talking about this yesterday, do you want to continue that conversation?鈥� 鈥澛�

Salamanca plans to introduce the robot and avatar in its high school AI and robotics courses, which use developed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to prepare students for high-demand tech jobs. The district plans to expand it to high school students in other classes if the pilot is successful. 

Salamanca Superintendent Mark Beehler explained the district鈥檚 embrace of AI. 鈥淢any schools are taking the easy solution of simply banning it, but I have found that students will find a way around most rules that schools put in place,鈥� Beehler said in a written response to questions. 鈥淚 also believe it is critical for schools to teach proper use of technology, not simply exclude it.鈥� 

During and after school hours, students will be able to use the avatar to receive help with assignments. Kiguel said students could upload photos of homework for feedback, ask the avatar to generate lessons on topics that interest them, or receive real-time translations in over 100 languages. Unlike other Realbotix robots, Salamanca鈥檚 robot will not have advanced features such as facial recognition and recording. 

The robot will also serve as a classroom resource. If a teacher loses their place during a lesson or needs a prompt on what comes next, Kiguel said, they can ask the robot for guidance because it has been loaded with the district鈥檚 curriculum. 

The products cost the district $57,590, according to  attached to the school board agenda. Kiguel said the price was discounted; the company鈥檚 website lists the M-Series robot, the model purchased by the district, at a starting price of $95,000. 

The plan has sparked debate online, with some calling it a forward-looking, innovative step for the district and others expressing concern about the broader implications of further integrating AI into schools, particularly in an underserved area. 

Salamanca is the only incorporated city in the United States located entirely within a Native American reservation. The school district serves roughly聽1,300 students, including聽32%聽who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native and聽79%聽who are economically disadvantaged.聽

鈥淲e already have so many issues in our community, including environmental issues. I just don鈥檛 understand the concept of adding AI onto that,鈥� said local parent Sierra Abrams, who learned about the technology in a . 鈥淏ringing it into the school district is contradicting everything we believe, in my opinion.鈥� 

For the past few months, the company has worked to establish guardrails to ensure student safety. Kiguel said the robot and avatar were trained on the district鈥檚 curriculum and will always redirect the conversation back to education. References to suicide, self-harm, or other flagged terms would automatically alert school administrators.

In a demonstration for New York Focus, Kiguel told the avatar that he was being bullied at school and wanted to get revenge on the student. 

鈥淚鈥檓 really sorry that happened to you. Being picked on and having rocks thrown at you is not okay, and that must have felt upsetting and maybe even scary,鈥� the avatar responded. 鈥淭he best next step is to tell a trusted adult at school right away, like a teacher, counselor or principal, and let your parent or guardian know, too.鈥� 

Beehler emphasized the importance of safety and privacy, noting that the robot and avatar operate on a closed system that is not connected to the internet, and that Realbotix will not have access to personally identifiable student information. 

To avoid AI-generated inaccuracies, Beehler said Realbotix trained the robot and avatar to say, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know,鈥� instead of generating fabricated or misleading responses known as 鈥�AI 丑补濒濒耻肠颈苍补迟颈辞苍蝉.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

The Trump administration has promoted the expanded use of AI and technology in education. Early in his second term, President Donald Trump  establishing a taskforce to help integrate AI into curricula and teacher training. In March, First Lady Melania Trump entered a White House technology summit  and invited guests to envision a future where robots educate children in literature, science, art, philosophy, mathematics, and history. 

At the same time, there has been  nationwide, with parents forming groups to push for stronger oversight of AI, and clearer guidelines to limit screen time and ensure digital resources are used appropriately in schools. In May, the New York State United Teachers union called for strict  and screen time in schools, and earlier this month, New York City Public Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced  until the school system finalizes guidance on artificial intelligence later this summer. 

The classroom marks a new venture for Realbotix, a Toronto-based robotics company formerly known as Tokens.com, that helped customers use cryptocurrency to rent 鈥渄igital land鈥� in the Metaverse. In April 2024, the company acquired Simulcra, the Las Vegas parent company behind RealDoll, which has spent decades  and later expanded into sex robots that remain on the market today. 

In a statement to New York Focus, a spokesperson explained that over the past two years, Realbotix has built a new team focused on education, health care, and wellness applications, and that Realbotix and RealDoll do not share employees, payroll, physical locations, or technology. She said Realbotix 鈥渋s pursuing a transaction with a Nasdaq-listed company that is intended to separate the businesses at the ownership level鈥� with completion expected by September. 

In recent years, Realbotix has worked to expand its presence in commercial settings. Still, it is best known for its 鈥渃ompanion robots,鈥� which are different from sex robots and intended to address what it鈥檚 described as a 鈥渓oneliness epidemic.鈥� Kiguel has previously said the company鈥檚 goal is to produce robots and AI that are 鈥渋ndistinguishable from humans.鈥� 

Beehler, Salamanca鈥檚 superintendent, said the partnership with Realbotix began after a former colleague met an investor at a dinner and discussed the possibility of bringing the company鈥檚 robots into the education sector. He was initially cautious about the partnership because it represented uncharted territory for both Realbotix and the school district. But he said the company was receptive to feedback and willing to adapt its products for the unique demands of an educational setting. 

The superintendent acknowledged concerns about students鈥� increasing screen time and emphasized that AI and robotics should support, not replace, the human connections at the center of education. 

Beehler said the district will measure the success of the program primarily through qualitative feedback from both students and teachers. 

Ryan Schaaf, associate professor of educational technology at Notre Dame of Maryland University, said he was optimistic about the initiative, but cautioned that its success hinges on thoughtful implementation, with teachers actively monitoring and guiding students鈥� interactions with AI. 

Schaaf acknowledged the backlash against AI in education, but said ignoring the technology is a mistake. 鈥淚t gives students a true disadvantage because once they leave school, they are going to be immersed in AI technologies.鈥� Instead, he argued that schools should balance AI-assisted learning with traditional instruction to prepare students for life after high school.

State Senator George Borrello, who represents Salamanca and surrounding areas of Western New York, said the program could help level the playing field for students by providing tutoring access to those who might not be able to afford private options and sparking greater interest in STEM. 

Borrello said local leaders have long struggled with keeping young people from leaving Upstate New York after high school. He said investments in technology and STEM education could help show students they can pursue fulfilling, high-paying careers in tech while still building their futures in rural communities like Salamanca.

鈥淥ne of the biggest things we see right now in technology is people fearing what the future will be with AI. Will it replace the workforce? Will it grow out of control?鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think this is a great way to get not just the kids but the teachers and the parents more comfortable with what the future may hold.鈥�

This was originally published on .

An autistic PhD candidate in computer science, Naba Rizvi is the lead author of published between 2016 and 2022 that focused on robots鈥� interactions with autistic people. She and her colleagues found that almost all of the research excludes the perspectives of the autistic subjects, pathologizes them by using an outdated understanding of the neurotype, and contains little, if any, evidence that therapies delivered by robots are effective. 

More than 93% of the studies start with the now-controversial stance that autism is a condition that can and should be cured. Nearly all test the use of robots to diagnose the condition or to teach autistic children to interact in ways that make them seem more neurotypical, such as making eye contact.

While most research on human-robot interaction starts by asking the subjects what their needs are, nearly 90% of the researchers in Rizvi鈥檚 sample did not ask autistic people whether they want the technology. Fewer than 3% included autistic people in framing the theory being investigated, and just 5% incorporated their perspectives in designing research. 

鈥淓ven clinicians are not convinced of their effectiveness, and minimal progress has been made in making such robots clinically useful,鈥� Rizvi writes. 鈥淚n fact, research even suggests that this use of robots may be counterproductive and negatively impact the skills they are designed to hone in autistic end-users.鈥�

Proponents reason that robots can not only deliver behavior therapy more cheaply but will appeal more to children than human therapists. Investors forecast the technology could become the centerpiece of a market that may soon be worth . Not yet common in special education classrooms, robots programmed to intervene with autistic children are being marketed to schools and even families.

Some of the early research the robotics industry has recently relied on in designing its experiments described autistic children as less human than chimpanzees, Rizvi adds: 鈥淭hese systems promote the idea that autistic people are 鈥榙eficient鈥� in their humanness, and that robots can teach them how to be more human-like. This echoes foundational work that has questioned the humanity of autistic people, and proposed non-human entities such as animals may be more human than them.鈥� 

Most of the research the team reviewed was published in robotics journals, not autism reviews. Seventy-six of the studies used anthropomorphic or humanoid robots to teach social skills, while 15 relied on devices designed to look like animals. One used a robot to diagnose 鈥渁bnormal鈥� social interactions.

Researchers leaned on harmful tropes that describe autistic people as robot-like 鈥� and robots as intrinsically autistic. Many of the papers reviewed also accept an old and controversial premise that autistic people are not motivated to interact socially with others. Less than 10% included representative samples of girls, whose autistic 鈥渂ehaviors鈥� are more likely to show up as depression and other mental health conditions. 

The report comes as a rift is widening between proponents of using behavioral therapy and autistic adults who say the intervention, commonly called applied behavior analysis, is inhumane. A growing body of research suggests that efforts to train autistic children to act and appear more like their neurotypical, or non-autistic, peers are ineffective and often traumatizing. 

In applied behavior analysis, a therapist uses positive and negative reinforcement to attempt to 鈥渆xtinguish鈥� mannerisms perceived as undesirable and to replace them with behaviors considered 鈥渘ormal.鈥� Therapists work one-on-one with a child, often 10 to40 hours a week. It is repetitive and expensive.

Many autistic adults who have undergone the therapy note that some of the mannerisms it attempts to eliminate, such as hand-flapping or rocking, are harmless ways to compensate for overstimulation or to express positive emotions. Nonetheless, the therapy is widely considered the 鈥済old standard鈥� of autism interventions. 

Rizvi says she鈥檚 dismayed but not surprised by the push to develop automated therapists. The use of robotics in medicine is exploding, and almost all of the researchers in her sample framed their work using what advocates call the 鈥渕edical model鈥� of disability. Historically, disabilities have been seen as medically diagnosable deficits to be treated or cured. 

Over the past couple of decades, however, people with disabilities have increasingly pushed for the adoption of a 鈥渟ocial model,鈥� which holds that a lack of inclusion in all realms of public life is the central issue. Autistic adults have advocated for better representation in research, so that more studies are geared toward making education, employment, housing and other sectors of society more accommodating.

Just 6% of the papers Rizvi and her colleagues reviewed start from a social model. This is problematic, they say, because many autistic people have needs that can be addressed by improved technology. Non-verbal students, for example, benefit from evolving 鈥渁ugmentative and assistive communication鈥� 鈥� devices families often struggle to get schools to provide. 

Rizvi鈥檚 main research focus is on the development of ethical artificial intelligence. Because the datasets AI is 鈥渢rained鈥� on , so are the resulting algorithms, she explains. Research has shown, for example, that resumes that mention jobs in disability agencies or support capacities are automatically scored lower by AI than those that don鈥檛.

Another example is AI-enabled online content moderation. Social media posts and comments that mention disability-related topics are often rejected as toxic, Rizvi says. 

鈥淲hen it comes to content moderation the data sets don’t always represent the perspectives of the communities,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd they do this thing where, say, if you have three people trying to agree on whether or not a sentence is ableist, the automatic assumption is that the majority vote is the right one.鈥�

鈥淎re Robots Ready to Deliver Autism Inclusion? A Critical Review鈥� was presented at a recent . The presentation includes suggestions for ensuring research is inclusive and avoids harmful stereotypes and historical misrepresentations, which are on Rizvi鈥檚 own website.