This classic aka tired AI as a Robot Teacher image is from a blog post from someone I deeply respect, Tony Bates in his post on An evaluation of Contact North’s AI tools for education.

Of course the dream of AI as a brightly lit classroom full of bright happy colors, with the friendly plastic robot in front. Why is this the dream? Why does a teacher need to be displaced?

More than that, look more closely at the boy in front. His left hand (on the right side) of the ijmage seems “okay” with 4 fingers, the thumb likely below. But look at the other hand. It takes a while, but the thumb is on the wrong side of his hand. a human thumb would be on the inside of a person’s hand, closest to his body, Put your own hands out in front of you– where are your thumbs?

Maybe fingers are a minor issue. Look at that robot, we see no face, what are the orbs on the back of its head? Looks like a video camera, THE TEACHER HAS EYES ON THE BACK OF THEIR HEAD.

Look again at the spacing- isn’t the robot a bit close for being attentive? Follow the boy’s line of sight. If he was joyfully smiling about this moment of care from Teacher Robot… why is the boy glancing at the robot’s shoulder?

This is the Uncanny Teacher Valley, still not crossed.

Also, I have to ask Tony (and did in the comment) where this come from, as he attributes it only as “Image: Chatbot Image, 2025” what can you do with said attribution? 

Finally, it has occurred to me again the repeated use of robots as AI selected representatives of itself cannot be fully laid at the feet of AI (if it even has feet). Much is revealed by an AI generated images file name, this one is “Student-with-robot-ChatBot-image.jpg”

GenAI is returning images of robots because we are asking for it.

And that is sadder still.

Shared By: CogDog is Bored of Images of AI Robots
Source: Tony Bates (Hi Tony!) https://www.tonybates.ca/2025/04/12/an-evaluation-of-contact-norths-ai-tools-for-education/
Image Alt Text: The image depicts a cheerful classroom setting where a young boy is interacting with a humanoid robot. The boy, sitting at a desk, is smiling and appears engaged in conversation with the robot in front of him. The robot is colorful, with a primarily turquoise and orange design, large round eyes, and sleek, smooth surfaces. The background shows a lively classroom with colorful wall decorations and other children seated at desks, engaged in activities, and smiling. The atmosphere seems vibrant and educational, with bright colors and a cheerful environment.