Robot teachers? A dangerous illusion from Australia, but schools cannot become dehumanized laboratories.

In some primary schools in Australia, in Sydney to be precise, the first “robot teachers”, humanoid devices designed to listen to children as they read aloud and offer them encouragement and support — an innovation especially designed for students who struggle with reading or feel anxious around adults.

The use of robot teachers with AI in schools represents a new frontier — and potentially revolutionary —for education. In cases like the Australian one, the benefits are clear: a less anxiety-inducing environment for children, concrete help for those struggling with reading, the ability to personalize the educational experience.

The criticisms

But there is no shortage of critical issues. First, there is the ethical and relational dimension: can a technology, no matter how advanced, really replace (or even integrate) the human relationship that is at the heart of teaching? Some - criticizing similar initiatives in other contexts - denounce the risk of "dehumanization” of the school.

School should not anesthetize anxiety: it should teach how to manage it.

The enthusiasm with which some Australian institutions are testing AI-powered robots as "reading companions" is unsurprising. At first glance, the scene might even seem endearing: a robot nodding, changing color, and making encouraging sounds as a child reads aloud. But behind this futuristic aesthetic lies a dangerous illusion: that of being able to replace the educational relationship with a technological simulation. Robots don't feel emotions. And children understand this. The point is simple and essential: a robot doesn't feel empathy, doesn't feel affection, doesn't truly understand a child's distress. It can simulate emotionsIt can reproduce smiles, it can activate programmed sounds and colors to appear reassuring. But it remains an algorithm. And children, even the youngest, are perfectly capable of distinguishing between an authentic gesture and an artificial gimmick. Entrusting sensitive parts of the school curriculum—like learning to read, which requires encouragement, eye contact, and emotional presence—to a robot means accepting an impoverished, plasticized version of education. Schools shouldn't numb anxiety: they should teach how to manage it.