In the realm of education, the future is becoming decidedly robotic.
Nestled in the scenic landscapes of upstate New York, a rural school district is set to make history. The Salamanca City Central School District will be among the pioneering educational institutions in the United States to integrate a humanoid robot into its learning environment.
Positioned on the historic lands of the Seneca Nation, the district recently announced its groundbreaking initiative. Starting this September, high school students will meet “Sally,” a cutting-edge robotic teaching aide with a price tag of $57,000, powered by artificial intelligence. This initiative represents a collaboration with Realbotix Corporation, a tech company based in Las Vegas.
Sporting brown hair and a lifelike latex exterior, Sally will be able to move her arms and hands with fluidity, although she won’t be traversing the classroom, as her legs are stationary.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Beehler shared with The Post, “It’s both thrilling and somewhat daunting to embark on this novel educational journey,” referring to this innovative pilot program’s introduction.
“Not everyone is open to much change in education…There was a point in time where people argued ‘Why do teachers need email accounts?’ or ‘Do we really need to have the internet in school?’ This is the next iteration of that. And the reality is, AI is already in schools,” he said.
For now, Sally is scheduled to be in 11th and 12th graders at Salamanca High School where she will take a byte out of coding, robotic, and artificial intelligence classes.
To make Sally more approachable, she’ll feature a western New York accent — similar to Buffalo native Gov. Kathy Hochul — at the behest of the school district.
“We don’t really hear the accent. We think it sounds neutral,” Beehler joked.
The bot, which uses about the same amount of electricity as a laptop, will assistant students and teachers in classes that are in the Woz Ed Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics courses, which was developed by the founder of Apple Steve Wozniak.
In September she will be available for only coding, robotics, and AI classes, according to Beehler.
School officials vowed that “Sally” will “never” usher out teachers.
“The Realbotix educational robot will never replace teachers, staff members, or meaningful human interaction,” the district said in a statement.
“Instead, it serves as another instructional tool that educators can use to engage students, reinforce classroom learning, and spark curiosity about emerging technologies.”
There will be many guardrails on Sally which operates on an off-line, closed AI system that is designed not to give answer, but to respond with prompts to students questions.
“It will provide data but will encourage the student to think for themselves and demonstrate a comprehension of the material,” said Beeher.
“Sally” will not collect any personal information, record any video or audio, and will not transmit any data to Realbotix, the superintendent assured.
The more advanced $125,000 full-bodied F-Series model from Realbotix stands on its own two legs, but still requires wheels to get around.
The city of Salamanca is on the Allegany Indian Reservation, which is roughly 60 miles south of Buffalo, and is governed by the Seneca Nation of Indians.
The district has approximately 1,400 registered students, with over 32% identifying as American Indian, according to the state Education Department.