Why Is a San Diego Charter School Spending $500,000 on Two Humanoid Robots?

The article reports that Altus Schools, a San Diego charter school chain, spent $500,000 on two humanoid Ameca robots intended to act as classroom teaching partners powered by a restricted version of ChatGPT. It questions the educational value, cost, and ethics of the purchase, noting that the robots are being used in a research study and that their classroom interactions appear awkward and limited. The piece also contrasts the spending with typical public education costs per student.

Summary generated July 26, 2026. AI summaries can make mistakes.