AFT’s Weingarten on Melania Trump’s Push to Replace Teachers with Robots

WASHINGTON-AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after the first lady of the United States launched an initiative to replace human teachers with artificial intelligence-powered robots:

"Well, give the first lady her due-she said the quiet part out loud. We know this administration has no real understanding of what teachers do, and suggesting robots can replace them makes that clear. Anyone who cares about teaching and learning knows there is no substitute for the daily magic that happens between educators and students in the classroom. As shiny as this technology may be, and as helpful it may be as a tool, it can never replace the human skills and knowledge needed to solve very human problems. And it can never replace the relationship building and critical thinking that kids need to thrive.

"Equally problematic, it exacerbates, not just ignores, all the harm we are now learning about from the effects of screens, particularly on young people. Congress and the president, not simply courts and juries, should be setting forth the appropriate guardrails and responsibilities.

"All this stunt proves is that this administration cares about lining the pockets of Big Tech billionaires-not about the success of American educators and certainly not about the success of the next generation."

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The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.