Steve Wozniak's Foundation Partners With Realbotix To Build AI Teacherbot (nysfocus.com)
- Reference: 0184496740
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/07/17/1944211/steve-wozniaks-foundation-partners-with-realbotix-to-build-ai-teacherbot
- Source link: https://nysfocus.com/2026/07/14/new-york-humanoid-robot-teacher-salamanca-school-district
> "This deployment in a working school district represents a landmark moment for both AI and humanoid robotics," said Andrew Kiguel, CEO of Realbotix, which is currently building the robot. "[Salamanca City Central School District in Western New York] marks the beginning of a new era where humanoid robots and intelligent AI assistants become standard tools in STEM education."
>
> The female robot, named Sally, will have a "lifelike appearance" 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. [...]
>
> Salamanca plans to introduce the robot and avatar in its high school AI and robotics courses, which use curriculum 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.
Realbotix's classroom robot has drawn scrutiny because the company is connected to RealDoll, the longtime maker of hyperrealistic sex dolls and sex robots. Realbotix acquired RealDoll's parent company in 2024 but says the education-focused operation has separate employees, payroll, facilities, and technology, with plans to formally separate the businesses at the ownership level.
The "companion robots" are different from sex robots and intended to address what it's described as a "loneliness epidemic." Kiguel has previously said the company's goal is to produce robots and AI that are "indistinguishable from humans."
[1] https://wozed.com/
[2] https://www.realbotix.com/
[3] https://nysfocus.com/2026/07/14/new-york-humanoid-robot-teacher-salamanca-school-district
[4] https://slashdot.org/~Hentes
Cost (Score:2)
The AI robot cost the district $57,590. It's actually a reasonable price for a robot.
Re: Cost (Score:2)
Think of all the teachers salaries we could save with this monstrosity. Kids don't need to learn facts anyway they'll all be using AI later.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah! they don't need to learn ANY math because calculators will do all that for them later!
Seriously, this is the 1980s over again. Do the calculators do it all for you? never happened. Teachers won and we still learned some math despite the calculators; which were limited in their usage, they even had a protest of math teachers at the capital over the problem. A compromise was found. back then.
People are stupid, ignorant, and lack creativity and motivation... already (in USA but it's coming to you.) So no
Re: Cost [of fake history?] (Score:3)
Just think how much control we'll have over what gets taught.
Accidentally I found myself reflecting on some parts of this topic as America and Israel start another round of war crimes. If there are any historians in the future, and I'm increasingly skeptical there will be, I think they will probably say that the high point of America, at least in moral terms, was probably when the nation accepted the reality of Vietnam and took the loss for higher morality...
Appealing to the YOB's sense of morality will be
Oh, great! (Score:2)
As if real teachers having an affair with a student isn't bad enough.
Re: (Score:2)
Is it statutory rape if it isn't human?
Re: (Score:2)
Legally you are allowed to even dismember it during your act as long as it is your own property or you have the consent of its owner.
Re: (Score:2)
Perversions of Science : Season 1 Episode 3 : Boxed In
NSFW. :D : [1]https://youtu.be/JFWQCOysu-M [youtu.be]
[1] https://youtu.be/JFWQCOysu-M
Re: (Score:2)
Holy cow! Kids are definitely going to fuck these things, I don't know what Woz is thinking.
Re: (Score:2)
I remember guys who couldn't handle school but getting an educational sex bot probably was the ONLY thing that could have taught them! Seriously, we should have prescriptions for these bots! You ever see an oversexed teenager with perfect grades? (if you think so, then you're misinterpreting over-sexed.)
I'm serious; some kids are simply not ready -- some need major therapy full time not education. If you want a good generic solution with massive success... you take all 12 year old children and replace the
in action (Score:2)
[1]Here's an example of the company's robot in action [youtube.com]. I don't know why their demo models are women.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pU-t24hDgMY
Re: in action (Score:2)
You know why really.
Re: (Score:2)
Is it because American teenage males have too much blood sloshing in the brain, it interferes with learning?
Re: in action (Score:2)
Generally it's sloshing around the second brain or main male brain at that age.
Re: (Score:2)
I assumed the comment meant that young males need that extra blood sloshing around in their brains moved somewhere else...
Re: in action (Score:2)
In which case that went way over my head. Sadly my blood never returned to the brain after that age :(.
Re: (Score:2)
Because female visage is more trustworthy. Everyone trust a strange woman before a strange man.
Re: (Score:2)
"Never trust a beautiful woman."
Re: (Score:2)
That robot reminds me of a RealDoll.
Perhaps they were already building sexbots and are diversifying into new markets.
Re: (Score:1)
The lips are too big, the expression is slack, the skin flaps like it's dead, it moves robotically, it lacks the movement to make the sounds, and it's very stiff. That thing is horrifying.
WTF? Wierd has no bounds I guess. (Score:2)
Well, they'll definitely save money on the bots slated for the sex ed classrooms, seeing as how all the tooling has already been developed.
corporate teaching (Score:1)
Teacher here. I occasionally entertain the idea to make a company style education system. Standard membership means you get a seat in the back. You are not allowed to ask questions. You have a helpline it is a payed telephone number. Silver membership means you can get help from the state of the art AiTutor (TM). You can sit in the middle of class and can ask 1 question each lesson. Checking an exercise you made is 10$ if you let the AI do it. Teacher? That will be 50$ unless you made a mistake. Then it is
Re: (Score:2)
> . 10$ for short answers. Meeting with teacher? 100$ an hour.
This is vastly overvaluing your worth.
Interesting choice of location (Score:3)
FTA: "Salamanca is the only incorporated city in the United States located entirely within a Native American reservation. The school district serves roughly 1,300 students, including 32 percent who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native and 79 percent who are economically disadvantaged."
The skeptic in me notes the relatively high percentage of indigenous students - and the quite high percentage of economically disadvantaged students - and wonders why this experiment isn't being conducted on rich, predominantly-white kids.
I'm also aware that the motive here might be to give these students a leg up on their disadvantages; but history makes me doubt that.
Wrong moral outrage here... (Score:2)
Realbotix's classroom robot has drawn scrutiny because the company is connected to RealDoll, the longtime maker of hyperrealistic sex dolls and sex robots. Realbotix acquired RealDoll's parent company in 2024 but says the education-focused operation has separate employees, payroll, facilities, and technology, with plans to formally separate the businesses at the ownership level.
The "companion robots" are different from sex robots and intended to address what it's described as a "loneliness epidemic." Kig
Shades of.... (Score:2)
..Neal Stephenson's "The DIamond Age".
Imagine the bug bounties (Score:3)
Students exploit AI teacher's backdoor. News at 11.
This will be a spectacular failure (Score:4, Insightful)
There is no way in hell an Ai robot will be able to interact meaningfully with a classroom of kids under 12 - the youngest ones will act like little kids, constantly interrupting and talking over each other and confusing it because they are excited and have little impulse control. Older kids will mistreat it or try to mess it up because it has zero authority. Why spend $57k a year on another teacher, or on two part-time teaching assistants when you can spend that once on a POS that some sales-idiot convinced an administrator would work?
"Are ye ready, kids?!" (Score:2)
Come, all ye young fellows that are learning to read, / (WITH A WAY, HEY, ROT YER BRAINS OUT!) / please pay attention and listen to me. / (GIVE ME SOME TIME TO ROT YER BRAINS OUT!)
Great News- (Score:3)
-students will still be able to sleep with their teachers!
WOw (Score:2)
[1]Uncanny valley hits hard [nysfocus.com].
[1] https://nysfocus.com/2026/07/14/new-york-humanoid-robot-teacher-salamanca-school-district
Re: (Score:2)
The skin needs more blemishes. Humans aren't that "perfect", even the ones with tons of work.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah as a kid I would have had nightmares about that damn thing. And I absolutely would have hated it.