New York School District Pauses $60K AI Robot Purchase Amid Sex Doll Company Ties
The Salamanca City Central School District in upstate New York has paused plans to deploy a $60,000 AI-powered humanoid robot named 'Sally' in classrooms after state education officials, teachers, and residents raised concerns. The robot, purchased from Realbotix, is intended to assist high school students in robotics and technology education. However, controversy erupted due to Realbotix's ties to Intima LLC, which owns RealDoll, a manufacturer of hyper-realistic sex dolls. Unionized teachers, led by NYSUT President Melinda Person, argued the robot has no place in schools. State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa also expressed concerns about data privacy and the robot's role as a tutoring platform. District officials insist the robot is not meant to replace teachers and that student data will be stored locally and encrypted. The pilot remains on hold pending enhanced privacy agreements and community outreach.
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