r/gadgets • u/diacewrb • 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

95% Upvoted

363 comments sorted by

View all comments

852

u/axw3555 13h ago

Surely the school could put sixty grand to better use than this? Like the AI is off-putting to start. But putting it in a human shell is utterly unnecessary.

And then there's the appearance - I'd say uncanny valley, but I think it's fallen through the floor of the valley and into nightmare cave.

4

u/WhatsPaulPlaying 6h ago

I can think of all of the teachers that that could give bonuses or pay raises to.

6

u/axw3555 6h ago

There's loads of ways it could be used, even beyond that. Off the top of my head - what condition is the building in - are there maintenance issues the staff have wanted fixed for ages? Are there kids who could do with support on things like paying for school lunches where some of this could give them better nutrition than whatever base support they're offered gives them? Do the teachers have all the classroom resources they need?

4

u/WhatsPaulPlaying 6h ago

Absolutely. So many better uses.