On Thursday, State Senators introduced a bill that would ban New York school districts from using humanoid robots in classroom instruction. This is a first-of-its-kind proposal that came in response to a New York Focus report about a Western New York school district’s plan to use one as a teaching assistant.
Salamanca City Central School District was ready to become one of the first in the nation to bring a humanoid robot into the classroom this fall, as part of a partnership with a tech company called Realbotix. Sally, the robot, would have lifelike silicon skin, long hair, and a wide range of upper-body movements and facial expressions. Sally is powered by artificial intelligence and would have given students personalized learning support.
The plan drew national attention and backlash from local parents over the use of AI and robotics in schools. On July 24th, state Education Commissioner Betty Rosa sent the district a letter expressing concern about “the effect that a humanoid robot may have within a high school classroom.” Hours later, Salamanca announced it was putting the project on hold while it worked through student data privacy agreements with the state.
Now some lawmakers want to prevent any school from making any similar investments. The bill will require school districts and charter schools to adopt a written policy prohibiting AI-enabled humanoid robots from performing the responsibilities of a teacher, including delivering classroom or one-on-one instruction, tutoring students and grading work.
“As someone who cares about kids and education and how we learn — not just academically, but socially — that all requires human interaction,” she said. “This is absolutely replacing a human being with a machine for instruction and other functions of education, and it shouldn’t be marketed to any school in the United States.” Senate Education Chair Shelly Mayer said.
Mayer said she is not opposed to AI in classrooms, but that its use should be guided by clear state standards. “This is the first step in what’s going to be a much larger conversation about AI in New York schools”.
