Morning Report: Charter Chain Drops $500K on ChatGPT-Powered Robots

Altus Schools, a charter network, spent $500,000 on ChatGPT-powered humanoid robots for a pilot program aimed at engaging students, but researchers warn the technology may be ineffective or harmful. Meanwhile, a report presented to the San Diego City Council suggests switching to public power could save ratepayers billions, and the city council passed new e-bike regulations banning children under 12 from riding certain models.

This post has been updated. Picture this: you walk into your child’s school and see a robot. It’s more than 6 feet tall and has grey skin. Its blue eyes flick from side to side; its exposed motors whirr. This isn’t just the stuff of science fiction. Officials at the local charter network Altus Schools recently purchased two ChatGPT-powered humanoid robots. The price tag? $500,000. In Altus officials’ telling, the robots are part of a pilot program they hope will not only help them more fully engage students, but also potentially yield educational benefits. Despite that enthusiasm, some researchers weren’t so keen. Research has not shown AI to necessarily be safe or effective as a learning tool, they say. In fact, it may even be harmful. One researcher called AI robots a “charade.” “The suggestion that this could ever be within a million miles of the capabilities of a human teacher is criminal,” said Wayne Holmes, professor of critical studies of artificial intelligence and education at University College London. “For this to be peddled as something that can teach English language arts, that can teach vocabulary, that can engage with education in these ways, it’s utter nonsense. It’s a parody of education.” Surprise: Public Power Could Be Much Cheaper in Long Run It’s been said before and now it’s been said again: A municipal power company could potentially save San Diego ratepayers billions of dollars. The process of ditching power giant SDG&E and switching to public power would be complicated. And the start-up costs would be very large. But the short-term costs would likely be “dwarfed by the long-term benefits,” according to a new report presented to the City Council Monday. Even after paying transition costs, ratepayers could expect to save between $7 billion and $19 billion over the first thirty years, reported City News Service https://www.kpbs.org/news/economy/2026/06/23/switching-san-diego-from-sdg-e-to-public-power-feasible-report-finds . Fighting off the prospect of public power makes strange bedfellows. Dozens of union members from two different local chapters of IBEW spoke against municipalization and said it would constitute “union busting.” They were joined in opposition by Chamber of Commerce CEO Chris Cate who is also a Voice board member. Reining in E-Bikes The San Diego City Council passed new e-bike regulations on Tuesday. It joins Chula Vista, Coronado and Carlsbad, which have also passed regulations. The new law will ban children younger than 12 from riding Class 1 and 2 e-bikes. Class 1 and 2 bikes can not go faster than 20 miles per hour. Class 3 bikes are already limited in California to people 16 and older. Children who break the law will be subject to fines. A study at one trauma center in San Diego found that e-bike accidents involving children increased by more than 300 percent between 2019 and 2023, according to a report by city staff https://sandiego.hylandcloud.com/211agendaonlinecouncil/Documents/ViewDocument/Staff%20Report%20for%20-%20%20 .pdf?meetingId=7056&documentType=Agenda&itemId=262428&publishId=1111105&isSection=false . City Councilmember Raul Campillo authored the law. “Without a doubt these regulations will save lives,” he said, according to City News Service https://www.kpbs.org/news/public-safety/2026/06/23/san-diego-city-council-approves-suite-of-e-bike-regulations . Everyone Will Be There Are you enchanted by swashbuckling? Do you own a tunic? Can you convincingly act like you’ve had an arm or leg chopped off? Well, maybe it’s time to step into the world of Amtgard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtgard . It’s a nationwide organization that not only incorporates character creation à la Dungeons and Dragons, but also does battle with foam sabers, pikes and other Middle Age-inspired implements of war. San Diego’s local chapter meets every Saturday at 1 p.m. https://www.reddit.com/r/SanDiegan/comments/1u9egc3/bored come sword fight in oceanside yes its real/ to duke it out amidst the rolling hills of Siar Gaeta Park in the Kingdom of Westmarch aka Buddy Todd Park in Oceanside https://maps.app.goo.gl/LqdEzdM6CYte4wUp7 . The clan even brings extra swords and shields See you there Seriously, I’m absolutely gonna go. – Jakob On This Day Eighty-nine years ago today, a zoologist departed San Diego on the first transcontinental flight https://www.nytimes.com/1937/06/26/archives/flying-boat-spans-the-united-states-first-transcontinental-hop.html by seaplane in America’s history. The New York Times described it like this https://www.nytimes.com/1937/06/25/archives/flying-boat-starts-crosscountry-trip-archbold-leaves-san-diego-on.html : “Lifting his 27,000-pound ship gracefully off the waters of the bay here, Richard Archbold started the first transcontinental flight of a flying boat at 4:51 P. M. today.” The flight lasted 17 hours 3 minutes and 30 seconds. The plane, a Consolidated PBY-1, which Archbold named Guba, averaged a comparative snail’s pace of 135 miles per hour. Archbold later flew the plane, and a similar one he named Guba II, on several expeditions to New Guinea. In Other News Oped: A new oped argues https://voiceofsandiego.org/2026/06/23/why-operating-a-desalination-plant-in-california-is-a-high-stakes-gamble/ that, while the possibility of selling San Diego’s allotment of Colorado River water may create a fertile environment for new desalination plants, the complexity of California’s desal landscape is still a major hindrance.- San Diego’s City Council voted unanimously on Monday https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/06/22/san-diego-cracks-down-on-illegal-cannabis-delivery-services/ to create new permit requirements for cannabis dispensaries. The new regulations include measures meant to more harshly punish illegal delivery services, including a new provision that allows legal operators to sue illegal ones for damages. Union-Tribune - A community group run by a local labor leader is suing to try to put a kibosh on the planned redevelopment https://timesofsandiego.com/community/2026/06/23/appeal-over-redevelopment-north-parks-newman-building/ of a North Park property that formerly housed the Claire de Lune coffee shop. Times of San Diego Correction: This post previously mischaracterized how many members of a local chapter of IBEW spoke at a City Council meeting. Members of two local chapters of IBEW spoke at the meeting, not just one. The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney and Will Huntsberry. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.