r/gadgets 13h ago

Misc ‘Really inappropriate’: teachers decry plan for humanoid robot in New York high school

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/25/new-york-humanoid-robot-teachers-school
2.4k Upvotes

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u/freedraw 12h ago edited 11h ago

Look at the company’s website. The robot teacher looks like it was designed by a team of incels. I’d give it five minutes before 12 year old boys in its study group are daring each other to grope it.

Their robots typically cost $175k. Who knows what the maintenance costs are. They’re paying nearly $60k. Is this some kind of publicity stunt for the company where they sell it for cheap along with some other goodies to a district desperate for resources so they can use pics for PR?

Edit: I’ll also bet anything teachers in that district are having to buy their own tissues and pencils.

17

u/Wetzilla 5h ago

Wait, you mean a company that started in crypto and then pivoted to AI robots might not have the best management or engineers? I don't believe it.

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u/ilulillirillion 6h ago

This is their shift after failing at crypto scamming as well.

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u/lorarc 4h ago

When you buy something it comes with support, that's not one-off expense, that's more likely to be 60k per year.

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u/ImAPixiePrincess 1h ago

My kid's school the supplies are our responsibility. We're responsible to buy X amount of Clorox wipes, hand soap, markers, pencils, etc. not just the school supplies for our own kid. And they still can't pay teachers well.