San Diego school buys disturbing new tech as experts sound the alarm

A San Diego charter school network has spent $500,000 on two ChatGPT-powered humanoid robots, pitching the flashy purchase as the future of education as critics question whether the costly experiment belongs anywhere near students.

The centerpiece of the half-million-dollar investment is Ameca, a 6-foot-2 robot with a gray silicone face, blinking blue eyes, a transparent skull glowing with purple lights and exposed motors that whir as it smiles, frowns and scans the room.

School officials at Altus Schools have hailed Ameca as the “world’s most advanced AI-powered humanoid robot” and say the machines are part of a pilot program exploring how artificial intelligence and robots could one day help educate students.

Altus, which serves students looking to recover credits and get back on track toward graduation, plans to use the robots at its in-person resource centers, where students already receive one-on-one academic support.

In an email to families, Cathryn Rambo, Altus’ dean of academic studies, called the project an “innovative opportunity for your student to participate in a research-based learning experience.”

“We are thrilled to be the first school in the world researching the use of physical AI as a teaching partner,” Rambo wrote to the Voice of San Diego.

Ameca can switch between four different personas: Sage the Teacher, Remi the Wellness Coach, Ari the College and Career Planner and Lexi the Translator, according to the email.

That wellness coach role is drawing some of the sharpest criticism.

“There is no independent evidence at scale that the use of these tools is either effective or safe, or even have a positive impact on the classroom,” Wayne Holmes, a professor of critical studies of artificial intelligence and education at University College London, wrote to the Voice of San Diego. “What we are increasingly hearing are bits of evidence that demonstrate the opposite.”

Holmes’ concerns extend beyond academics.

The report notes that even OpenAI has not fully solved the challenge of making AI chatbots safe for children.

It also points to reports of what has been described as AI-induced psychosis, a term used for cases in which chatbot users developed psychotic tendencies alongside AI conversations or had delusional beliefs reinforced by chatbots’ often sycophantic responses.

According to the report, some people experiencing AI-induced psychosis have died by suicide, and children are considered especially vulnerable to forming unhealthy relationships with AI-powered chatbots.

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