Youtube: Engineered Arts
A charter school network in San Diego is facing backlash from education researchers after spending $500,000 on two ChatGPT-powered humanoid robots to use as classroom teaching partners.
Altus Schools purchased two units of Ameca, a six-foot-two robot developed by Engineered Arts with a silicone face and exposed motors designed to simulate human emotion.
The robots have been configured with four personas including a teacher, a wellness coach, a college planner and a translator, and students are never left alone with them during interactions.
Despite the price experts are reluctant Ameca will provide benefit
According to NY Post, Wayne Holmes, a professor of AI and education at University College London, said there is “no independent evidence at scale” that these tools are safe or effective in a classroom setting.
If technology is the body, then AI is the soul—and we are the architects of their meeting point. 🌉
For 20 years, we've been refining that connection. We don't just build machines—we craft the physical pulse for Embodied AI.
From Ameca’s haunting smile to Azi’s quiet… pic.twitter.com/TPXTRhgddO
— Engineered Arts (@engineeredarts_) June 27, 2026
A second researcher went further, calling the physical robot “just complete bullsh*t, a show, a charade, a spectacle,” arguing that the distraction of a humanoid robot is actively detrimental and that no machine can replicate the sentience or adaptability of a human teacher.
Holmes added that suggesting Ameca could “ever be within a million miles of the capabilities of a human teacher is criminal,” with critics noting the $500,000 could have funded actual teachers, paraprofessionals or mental health support staff instead.
During one observed classroom session, a robot impersonating Nikola Tesla delivered a lesson filled with stops, starts and interruptions, speaking too quickly for students to follow. The school’s own dean of academic studies admitted the session was “clunky.”
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The debate comes as countries take opposing approaches to AI in education. Norway recently banned AI tools for elementary school students entirely, citing declining test scores and a need to refocus on core learning skills.
