End the Salamanca Robot Experiment: Protect Native American Students
The Issue
This fall, a humanoid robot from Realbotix is scheduled to enter the classrooms of Salamanca High School in upstate New York. The Cattaraugus County School District paid $57,590 for it. What they have not adequately explained is why they chose this school, this community, or this company.
Realbotix acquired Simulacra, a company known for realistic sex dolls, for $16.7 million in 2024. That company is now a subsidiary of Realbotix, manufacturing the same product line as the parent company now seeking a foothold in American classrooms.
Nearly 40 percent of Salamanca High School's students are Native American, members of or connected to the Seneca nation on whose territory the school sits. Local residents have been direct about what this means. "Out of all the schools in New York state, let alone in the US, they chose to experiment on Native American children yet again," said Sierra May Abrams, a substitute teacher at Salamanca and local resident. Alyson Brown, a Seneca nation member and community health specialist, said many families are "viewing this pilot program as history repeating itself."
The New York State Education Department has already flagged serious concerns about student privacy, adequate safeguards, and the risk of the robot substituting for trained professionals. The Salamanca Teachers' Association has called for a pause. The president of the statewide teachers' union has called the program "really inappropriate."
The district has not adequately responded to any of these concerns. Superintendent Mark Beehler did not respond to multiple press requests.
The Cattaraugus County School District must halt this pilot immediately. No robot from a company with ties to the adult entertainment industry belongs in any school. No community, especially a Native American community with deep historical reasons to distrust institutional experimentation, should be selected as a testing ground without meaningful consent.
Sign the petition to demand the district cancel its Realbotix contract and commit to a transparent, community-driven process before any AI or robot enters Salamanca's classrooms.
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The Issue
This fall, a humanoid robot from Realbotix is scheduled to enter the classrooms of Salamanca High School in upstate New York. The Cattaraugus County School District paid $57,590 for it. What they have not adequately explained is why they chose this school, this community, or this company.
Realbotix acquired Simulacra, a company known for realistic sex dolls, for $16.7 million in 2024. That company is now a subsidiary of Realbotix, manufacturing the same product line as the parent company now seeking a foothold in American classrooms.
Nearly 40 percent of Salamanca High School's students are Native American, members of or connected to the Seneca nation on whose territory the school sits. Local residents have been direct about what this means. "Out of all the schools in New York state, let alone in the US, they chose to experiment on Native American children yet again," said Sierra May Abrams, a substitute teacher at Salamanca and local resident. Alyson Brown, a Seneca nation member and community health specialist, said many families are "viewing this pilot program as history repeating itself."
The New York State Education Department has already flagged serious concerns about student privacy, adequate safeguards, and the risk of the robot substituting for trained professionals. The Salamanca Teachers' Association has called for a pause. The president of the statewide teachers' union has called the program "really inappropriate."
The district has not adequately responded to any of these concerns. Superintendent Mark Beehler did not respond to multiple press requests.
The Cattaraugus County School District must halt this pilot immediately. No robot from a company with ties to the adult entertainment industry belongs in any school. No community, especially a Native American community with deep historical reasons to distrust institutional experimentation, should be selected as a testing ground without meaningful consent.
Sign the petition to demand the district cancel its Realbotix contract and commit to a transparent, community-driven process before any AI or robot enters Salamanca's classrooms.
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Petition created on July 26, 2026