A human-like robot visits the White House to push artificial intelligence to teach children

An unexpected guest accompanied Melania Trump to the Global Alliance Summit to Advance the Future Together on Wednesday: a walking, talking human-like robot.

During the event, the First Lady showcased a future in which artificial intelligence-powered humanoid robots — introduced as an ideal teacher named “Plato” — provide students with personal and immediate access to human knowledge, including philosophy and art.

the Figure 03 Robot It was made by a Silicon Valley-based robotics company Figure AIwhich introduced the third generation humanoid robot in October last year. the The Figure 03 robot costs about $25,000according to Forbes.

Figure 03 is designed for people to use in their homes, with demonstration videos showing them folding clothes, lifting eggs from cartons, using the washing machine and delivering drinks to owners as they relax by the pool. It has also been shown in corporate use cases as a receptionist and package deliverer. Using a special AI engine called Helix, it can perform these tasks autonomously and respond to your voice commands.

At the White House, the robot walked slowly down the red carpet to deliver opening remarks for the technology summit.

“I am grateful to be part of this historic movement to empower children through technology and education,” said Robot Figure 03. Then he said “hello” in different languages.

the the first lady said later AI-powered humanoid robots could be placed in children’s homes as an aid to their education “to enhance analytical and problem-solving skills and adapt in real time to the student’s pace, prior knowledge and even emotional state.”

Promoting artificial intelligence in education

The two-day summit hosts leaders from 45 countries and 28 technology organizations, and aims to “empower children through education and technology,” according to a White House statement. Guests included representatives of technology giants such as Google, OpenAI, Microsoft and AI data analytics company Palantir.

The summit is part of the First Lady’s Summit Be the Best: Empowering the Future InitiativeWhich aims to help children learn using advanced technology. It was submitted In 2018 As an awareness campaign aimed at combating cyberbullying and helping children affected by the opioid crisis.

US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon spoke Artificial intelligence is one of the Ministry of Education’s main priorities On the first day of the summit.

“If we can effectively scale these resources by investing in AI infrastructure and training, we can provide expert instruction in countless fields to employ large numbers of people at a fraction of the cost,” McMahon said Tuesday at a roundtable.

According to McMahon, the Department of Education has already allocated millions of dollars in grants to support the use of artificial intelligence in schools.

The event comes after criticism of Trump Administration Executive Order of 2025 – Dismantling the Ministry of Education. Although the Department of Education was not officially abolished, it underwent major policy changes, funding cuts, and workforce reductions.

The introduction of a human-like robot at the summit sparked backlash among many who are concerned about the role of technology in classrooms. Critics have taken to social media to express concerns that these machines could eventually replace teachers, stripping the education system of basic human contact and leading to increased layoffs and cost-cutting.

On one Huffington Post on Instagram With the robot on display, commenters expressed deep skepticism, with one user quipping, “Nice, getting rid of teachers in favor of a robot,” while another flatly rejected the concept, saying, “No, I don’t want to imagine a world with emotionless robots teaching our kids.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.