Western New York School District Hits Pause on Robot Teacher Amid Scrutiny
The district announced the pause hours after the State Education Department sent it a letter expressing concerns about the plan, which New York Focus first reported on last week.
From Melissa Manno, education reporter, NYFocus.com
A Western New York school district has halted its plans to place a humanoid robot in a classroom after a New York Focus report on the plan sparked fierce debate over the use of artificial intelligence in schools and backlash from local parents.
Salamanca City Central School District announced in a Facebook post Friday afternoon that its pilot project with tech company Realbotix has been put on hold as school officials “work through enhanced student data privacy agreements” with the state education agency and engage with community members.
The news comes hours after state Education Commissioner Betty Rosa sent a letter informing Salamanca Superintendent Mark Beehler that “the Department remains concerned about the effect that a humanoid robot may have within a high school classroom.”
According to the letter, the department met with the district to discuss the robot plan earlier this week.
Read the education commissioner’s letter to the school district and the district’s subsequent post on social media.
