NY school district pauses AI robot teaching assistant rollout amid controversies about manufacturer

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Salamanca High School in New York introduces Sally, a 5'2" humanoid robot, as a teaching assistant for upper grades. Sally features lifelike silicone skin and designed facial expressions. The school district emphasizes that the $57,000 robot won't replace human teachers and operates on a closed AI system with no student data transmitted to manufacturers. A school district in rural New York has paused a program to bring in a robot assistant teacher as it reviews privacy concerns. The Salamanca City Central School District's board initially approved the nearly $60,000 purchase of an AI-driven robot from Realbotix, which would not only be in the classroom, but could communicate with students through their laptops. The robot, named Sally, is designed to resemble a human, with silicone skin and long brown hair. It will remain seated but will be capable of