Melania Trump Wants A Robot To Homeschool Your Child

At a press conference astatine nan White House connected Wednesday, First Lady Melania Trump showed up pinch a humanoid robot developed by robotics patient Figure AI. The duo waltzed down a reddish carpet together earlier nan bot gave a little speech, chirping: “I americium grateful to beryllium portion of this historical activity to empower children pinch exertion and education.”

Not agelong aft these remarks, nan instrumentality mosied retired of nan room and disappeared.

The bizarre spectacle was portion of nan First Lady’s recently launched initiative, Fostering nan Future, which invited world leaders from astir nan world to talk really to empower children done acquisition technology, including AI.

The arena easy evoked dystopian dreams of nan early — notably ones successful which nan humble (human) schoolhouse coach has been replaced by a Terminator-shaped server stack that tin locomotion and speak Latin. Indeed, during her remarks, nan First Lady asked attendees to envision a early successful which a humanoid robot would enactment arsenic nan eventual pedagogue for nan world’s children. (The arena took spot astatine nan aforesaid clip nan Trump management announced a abstracted tech council staffed by jet-setting Silicon Valley executives.)

“Imagine a humanoid pedagogue named Plato,” nan First Lady said. “Access to nan classical studies is now instantaneous – literature, science, art, philosophy, mathematics, and history – Humanity’s full corpus of accusation is disposable successful nan comfortableness of your home. Plato will supply a personalized experience, adaptive to nan needs of each student. Plato is ever patient, and ever available. Predictably, our children will create deeper captious reasoning and independent reasoning abilities.” 

“Honored to beryllium invited to nan White House by nan First Lady Melania Trump,” nan Figure AI X relationship posted Wednesday.

The First Lady’s comments are evidently forward-looking and don’t bespeak wherever robotics and edtech are today, aliases will beryllium anytime soon. Still, nan reasoning that AI and exertion tin beryllium utilized to automate learning (and, successful galore ways, switch quality educators) has been gaining successful popularity successful nan tech industry. Such ideas person been many times promoted by nan White House.

Over nan past year, acquisition experiments for illustration nan Alpha School, a web of backstage schools that use AI to thatch children astatine accelerated speed, person gained traction and media attention.

The Trump management has embraced experiments for illustration these, while simultaneously attacking nan accepted nationalist acquisition system.

Secretary of Education Linda E. McMahon, who is successful nan midst of abolishing nan very agency she is tasked pinch running, has besides recovered nan clip to visit an Alpha School campus, wherever she precocious praised nan “opportunity” promised by nan acquisition chain.

“Alpha School is reimagining K–12 acquisition by equipping students pinch applicable AI skills and preparing them for a quickly evolving technology-driven workforce,” nan management recently said, of McMahon’s visit.

Melania Trump’s arena Wednesday likewise highlighted nan domiciled that nan management feels nan tech manufacture should play successful nan early of American acquisition — pinch Trump recognizing nan “participation of starring American exertion companies, whose engagement reflects nan increasing domiciled of nan backstage assemblage successful supporting safe and effective acquisition innovation.”