Before We Put Robots in Classrooms, Can We Invest in Teachers?

No offense to technology...but what in the Black Mirror is going on? A New York school district , Salamanca City Central School District, planned to introduce a nearly $58,000 humanoid robot and digital teaching assistant into a high school before pausing the program following concerns from educators, state officials, and the community. The district says the robot was designed to support teachers, not replace them, but I still believe we are losing the plot.

A.I. Pulling Up to Support A.I.

Even the district’s response felt cold. The Facebook post shown here was literally labeled “AI content,” and then used polished myth-versus-fact language to convince the community that an AI-supported robot was safe, helpful, and nothing to worry about. AI writing a defense of AI is funny, but it also proves the point. Where was the human voice? Where were the teachers explaining what support they actually needed? Where were the families and community members before the purchase was made? A graphic can answer questions, but it cannot repair the disconnect people feel when major decisions are made without them.

Invest in Our Teachers

Teachers should be making at least $100,000 a year. Yes, I said it. They are educators, mentors, counselors, mediators, data analysts, and often the first adults to notice when a child is struggling. Yet the national average starting teacher salary was only about $46,500 during the 2023–2024 school year, while the average public-school teacher salary was about $72,000. Before spending thousands on a machine designed to look human, invest in the real human beings already doing the work.

We Are Losing Our Kids

Children also need more human interaction, not a digital imitation of it. Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child explains that responsive, back-and-forth interaction with caring adults helps build and strengthen neural connections in a child’s brain. Those relationships create the foundation for learning, communication, emotional development, behavior, and long-term well-being. The American Academy of Pediatrics also reports that heavier solo screen use is associated with less optimal language, cognitive, social-emotional, and executive-function development, particularly when technology begins replacing real conversation, play, and relationships. A robot may provide information, but it cannot genuinely care, recognize that a child is having a difficult day, or build the trust that often makes learning possible.

Invest in Your Community

As a community, we need to rely more on the pillars already around us. Our teachers. Our mentors. Our counselors. Our elders. Our coaches. Our neighbors. I know human interaction feels harder for many people these days, but replacing more of it with electronics is not the answer. Invest in people. Strengthen relationships. And seriously, did y’all not watch iRobot?

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2026). Digital ecosystems, children, and adolescents: Policy statement. Pediatrics, 157(2), e2025075320.

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (n.d.). Serve and return: Back-and-forth exchanges. Harvard University.

Marcelo, P. (2026, July 28). New York school pauses plan to deploy humanlike AI robot teacher after backlash. Associated Press.

Moore, K. (2026, July 23). Teachers union blasts use of AI-powered classroom robot. Times Union.