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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: This Humanoid Robot Was Supposed to be a Teaching Assistant [Watch (HLS stream): This Humanoid Robot Was Supposed to be a Teaching Assistant](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/g7E2kGkd.m3u8) (2:59)  _Published 2026-09-11_ --- Sep 12, 2026 1:18 AM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [The 9-Foot-Tall AI Humanoid Robot at the Center of China’s Robotics Revolution](/video/i3YBFPmb/) ### The 9-Foot-Tall AI Humanoid Robot at the Center of China’s Robotics Revolution [Autonomy in Robotics](/video/Kwe7Rt4a/) ### Autonomy in Robotics [Obama Meets Asimo Robot](/video/vlMk0Tol/) ### Obama Meets Asimo Robot --- ## Transcript This humanoid robot was supposed to be rolled out at a New York school this fall, but after community backlash, the plan was paused in late July. Now, New York State may become the first one to ban humanoid robots in schools altogether. Sally the robot was named after Salamanca High School in upstate New York, which goes by Sally high to locals. She. Or maybe it was meant to become an AI powered teaching assistant placed in the school's standing for high school students. Our students compete in robotic competitions. We have classes that teach robotics. Having a robot, a contemporary or maybe even cutting edge robot for our students to study from and learn maintain seemed like a logical step. But it's not. Doesn't stand up. It doesn't walk around, doesn't have a lot of the things that people I think associated with it. According to the school, it was loaded exclusively with district approved curriculum, instructional strategies and historical information about Salamanca, meaning solid technically could not participate in conversations outside of academics or access the open web, and it would be fully stationary, according to the superintendent of the school district. The student government helped design the robot's persona from its age to its prioritized qualities, such as compassion. He also told me the goal was twofold first, to use it to guide students for the materials if they had questions, and second, to prepare them for the potential future interactions with humanoid robots and AI. The intent was to have this as a demonstration tool in the classroom for what I believe we're going to start seeing out in public much more frequently, um, in the role of, say, customer service or greeters. Um, and businesses. When asked about fears that robots could replace teachers, Vilar said that Sally did not have the capabilities to do so. But the teachers union flagged another concern students. Data privacy features number one priority when it comes to being in front of our students is making sure that our students are safe and that no harm can come to them. Kids having private conversations, any anything that can personally identify them. We had no way and no assurance that that she wasn't, in fact, listening. While the school said that the robot would not record audio or video or use facial recognition technology, the superintendent confirmed the conversations would be stored and accessible to school staff only, not the robotics company. The silly pilot remains on hold as the school district works for enhanced student data privacy agreements. The ordeal led to a new proposed bill in New York that would prohibit AI humanoid robots in an instructional capacity in schools. This also comes as New York City has introduced its first ever one year pause on student facing generative AI this month. From elementary to middle school. 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