A rural school district in upstate New York has paused plans to introduce a humanlike AI robot as a classroom aid after strong objections from state education officials, teachers and residents. Salamanca City Central School District, located on the Seneca Nation of Indians reservation, had planned to use the robot, named "Sally", to support high school students studying robotics and technology, but is now working through enhanced student data privacy agreements and further community outreach before proceeding.

Sally, made by Las Vegas-based firm Realbotix at a cost of nearly $60,000, is a stationary robot with movable arms and hands and no working legs, running a curriculum developed with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Objections centred on student data privacy, Realbotix's ties to a sister company with a stake in the AI sex doll maker RealDoll, and fears among teachers that it signalled a move towards replacing human staff. State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa also questioned whether the robot would act as a "tutoring platform" despite district assurances it would not deliver instruction, while the teachers' union president said a company linked to sex dolls "has no business in our classrooms." The district has promised safeguards including no personal data collection, no audio or video recording, and no connection to Realbotix's systems.