GoKawiilAn unexpected guest escorted Melania Trump at the Fostering the Future Together Global Coalition Summit on Wednesday: a walking, talking Figure 03 humanoid robot.
During the event, the first lady pitched a future where AI-powered humanoid robots -- presented as an idealized educator named "Plato" -- provide students with personalized and instant access to human knowledge, including philosophy and art.
The Figure 03 robot is made by Silicon Valley-based robotics company Figure AI, which introduced its third-generation humanoid robot in October last year. The Figure 03 robot costs around $25,000, according to Forbes.
Figure 03 was designed for people to use in their homes, with demo videos showing it folding laundry, lifting eggs from a carton, using a washing machine and delivering drinks to its owners lounging by the pool. It was also shown in corporate use cases as a receptionist and a package deliverer. Using a proprietary AI engine called Helix, it can autonomously perform these tasks and respond to your voice commands.
Watch this: Figure 03: Everything We Know About the New Humanoid Robot 03:27
At the White House, the humanoid robot walked slowly down the red carpet to deliver opening remarks for the tech summit.
"I'm grateful to be part of this historic movement to empower children with technology and education," the Figure 03 robot said. It then said "welcome" in various languages.
The first lady later said that AI-powered humanoid robots could be placed in children's homes as an aid to their education to "boost analytic skills and problem solving and adapt in real time to a student's pace, prior knowledge and even emotional state."
Promoting AI in education
The two-day summit is hosting leaders from 45 nations and 28 technology organizations, and is intended to "empower children through education and technology," according to a White House statement. Guests included representatives from tech giants such as Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft and the AI data analytics company Palantir.
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