5 questions about the Salamanca School District’s AI robot controversy

1. What happened?

The Salamanca City Central School District in rural upstate New York has paused plans to deploy “Sally,” an artificial intelligence-powered humanoid robot, in classrooms after state education officials, teachers and local residents raised concerns. The district’s board had approved a nearly $60,000 purchase from Realbotix, intending for the stationary robot to assist high school students studying robotics and technology.

2. Why does this matter?

The controversy touches on broader anxieties about AI replacing human educators, student data privacy and the ethics of a school partnering with a company tied to sex doll manufacturing. New York State United Teachers President Melinda Person argued students need real relationships with caring adults rather than robots, while State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa raised concerns about the robot’s classroom role and data protections.

3. Who is involved?

Key figures include Superintendent Mark Beehler, who championed the purchase and was connected to Realbotix through a former colleague; Realbotix, the Las Vegas-based robotics company; and Person, who publicly opposed the plan. Rosa and local residents, including 2024 Salamanca High School graduate Joplin Ficek, also weighed in with concerns.

4. What is next?

The robot pilot remains on hold while the district works through “enhanced student data privacy agreements” with state officials and continues community outreach. No timeline for resuming the deployment was provided in the district’s statement.

5. Why is the company’s background controversial?

Realbotix LLC, which makes “Sally,” has a sister company called Intima LLC that holds an ownership stake in RealDoll, a maker of AI-powered sex dolls. Both the school district and Realbotix have stressed the companies operate independently with separate management, personnel and manufacturing, and that “Sally” is a newly manufactured, purpose-built educational unit with no modified hardware.

For more on this report, read “New York school pauses plan to deploy humanlike AI robot teacher after backlash” from The Associated Press, published on The Washington Times.