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President Donald Trump’s State-of-the-Union speech last month was notably light on education policy. While actively dismantling the US Department of Education and implementing shameful anti-trans policies at schools, the Trump administration has focused its efforts on AI education in what it frames as an attempt to ensure that young Americans have the “skills and understanding necessary to thrive in the AI-driven workforce.”
Beyond advocating for the use of AI to teach impressionable young minds — the tech’s extensive and well-documented shortcomings be damned — the White House is making it clear that it’s putting it front and center.
During a surreal publicity stunt on Wednesday, First Lady Melania Trump walked down the red carpet of the White House’s Eastern Room next to a black-and-white humanoid robot, dubbed Figure 03, built by US-based company Figure.
Introduced in October, Figure 03 is the company’s third generation humanoid robot, designed to be a “truly general-purpose robot” that can “perform human-like tasks and learn directly from people” through reinforcement learning and AI.
The stunt was part of the White House’s “Fostering the Future Together” initiative, which was purportedly designed to “help children learn, grow, and thrive through the safe and innovative use of advanced technology.”
Today’s summit was attended by a number of other spouses of world leaders, including French first lady Brigitte Macron, and Olena Zelenska, first lady of Ukraine.
The optics of the robot in the middle of an event aimed at fostering children’s education were jarring.
“Thank you, first lady Melania Trump, for inviting me to the White House,” a robotic female voice told the camera after introducing itself.
“I am grateful to be part of this historic movement to empower children with technology and education,” it continued.
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