A New York School District Is Testing a Cost Saving Measure for the Classroom

townhall.com

Much in the same way that fast food workers and the 'Fight for 15' movement ushered in an era of automation at your local McDonald's, it seems teachers unions and their unfettered greed are going to usher in cost-saving measures in the classroom, too. 

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At least, that's what one New York school district is testing, as they introduce a humanoid robot named 'Sally', who will teach juniors and seniors at Salamanca High School, located in upstate rural New York.

Here's more:

A rural upstate New York school district will be one of the first in the nation to bring a humanoid robot into the classroom.'The Salamanca City Central School District, located on Seneca Nation territory, will be introducing $57,000 AI-powered 'Sally' in high school classes in September as a teaching assistant, it announced last week.

'Sally' will have brown hair, latex skin, and will be able to move its arms and hands—but won't be able to cruise around the classroom since our legs don't move.

"It's exciting but also a bit nerve wracking," superintendent Dr. Mark Beehler told The Post of the first of its kind pilot program, a partnership with the Las Vegas-based company Realbotix Corporation.

"Not everyone is open to much change in education ... There was a point in time where people argued, 'Why do teachers need email accounts?' or 'Do we really need to have the internet in school?' This is the next iteration of that. And the reality is, AI is already in schools," he said.

For now, 'Sally' is scheduled to be in 11th and 12th grades at Salamanca High School where she will take a byte out of coding, robotic, and artificial intelligence classes.

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The average salary of a teacher in New York is between $92,000 and $95,000.

We can't imagine teachers unions sit quietly by and let this happen. Sure, 'Sally' is an educational assistant, but if she works out, robots are coming for their jobs next.

The school promises 'Sally' will never replace real teachers.

But budgets are a thing.

Lots of people would probably agree with this.

That's a fair point.

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All of this.

We also have to wonder how long an AI teacher would last in some school districts. In places like Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles, that robot would be dismantled in about five minutes.