Upstate New York Will Introduce One Of The Country’s First Robot Teachers

What might sound like the plot to a Blade Runner sequel is slowly becoming reality in Upstate New York.

We were told that robots would become commonplace in society by 2025, and while we're not exactly at that mark, they'll finally find a role in education...

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Robots Teaching Your Children

Salamanca City Central School District in Western New York has made an unprecedented announcement: They will now employ a fully robotic teacher in their curriculum. The robot is a Realbotix educational robot and digital avatar which will work with teachers and students to foster critical thinking skills and foster a love for learning.

This is not an answer machine, instead, it will use district-approved curriculum, instructional strategies, and historical information to guide students through the process to find the answer. It does not utilize A.I. Data Centers, uses less electricity than a laptop, and operated using only locally stored educational content.

Will This Replace Teachers?

This is the sort of thing I hear and think "wait, what happens to the actual teachers?" Luckily, the school district anticipated that. They've made it clear that these aren't "teachers" per-se, rather educational tools, much like smart boards and laptops.

They will act the same as if an instructor passed out a worksheet, simply with a few more steps.

Whether this will be the future of technology or simply a novelty is unknown, but it sets a precedent that the rest of New York may feel obligated to follow. For the time being, we'll have to see how it does in its very limited scope first.