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A New York school district made\u00a0global headlines<\/a>\u00a0this week for plans to trial a humanoid robot named \u201cSally\u201d in high school classrooms.<\/p>\n Sally has lifelike silicone skin, long brown hair, and the ability to move her arms, head, and face while seated. According to\u00a0the manufacturer<\/a>, she uses \u201cnatural conversation, facial expressions and real-time interaction\u201d.<\/p>\n She is programmed to be a stationary classroom teaching assistant and would work as a chatbot to answer student and teacher questions. She would also be available to students 24\/7 as a digital avatar online.<\/p>\n Following concerns about student privacy and data storage and tracking, the\u00a0project has been paused<\/a>.<\/p>\n But how far away are we from having human-like robots or AI-enhanced avatars as routine features of the school classroom?<\/p>\n Sally is not the first robot to be proposed for classrooms.<\/p>\n Non-humanlike robots (such as \u201cNao<\/a>\u201d) have been\u00a0trialled in classrooms before<\/a>. For example, they have been used to help students learning languages in Japan, South Korea, Europe and East Asia. They have also been used in technology classes when teaching skills such as coding.<\/p>\n Tools such as Alexa, which responds to voice commands, have also\u00a0been trialled<\/a>\u00a0in primary classrooms in New Zealand. Here, results varied by age. Younger children had difficulty asking questions in the right format to get the answer they were seeking. Older students tested the limits of the technology, testing social interactions like joke telling or seeking unusual responses.<\/p>\n Teachers are also increasingly turning to generative AI for\u00a0administrative tasks<\/a>\u00a0to save time, while chatbots are now regularly used in schools in Australia. For example,\u00a0South Australia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0New South Wales<\/a>\u00a0have introduced their own generative AI tool for students and teachers.<\/p>\n This\u00a0growing day-to-day familiarity<\/a>\u00a0is likely to lower the barrier to more advanced, human-like technologies entering classrooms.<\/p>\n NY school to introduce first humanoid robot in US classroom – and vows ‘Sally’ will never replace teachers https:\/\/t.co\/BxVX2fHgGl<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/T0PnCmFuxh<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 New York Post Metro (@nypmetro) July 18, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nRobots are not new to classrooms<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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