(The Lion) — A “moment of wonder” is how First Lady Melania Trump described the era of artificial intelligence during rare public remarks Thursday at a White House event on AI education.
“It is our responsibility to prepare children in America,” Trump said as she hosted the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education in Washington, D.C. Citing self-driving cars, robots in the operating room, and drones redefining war, Trump said “every one of these advancements is powered by AI.”
The meeting, attended by The Lion and other reporters, also included remarks from task force members, including Cabinet Secretaries Christopher Wright (Energy), Linda McMahon (Education), Brooke Rollins (Agriculture), and Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Labor), as well as technology leaders in the private sector.
“The robots are here. Our future is no longer science fiction,” Trump added, noting that AI innovation is spurring economic growth and will “serve as the underpinning of every business sector in our nation,” including science, finance, education, and design.
Trump predicted AI will unfold as the “single largest growth category in our nation” during President Donald Trump’s administration, and she would not be surprised if AI “becomes known as the greatest engine of progress” in America’s history.
“But as leaders and parents, we must manage AI’s growth responsibly,” she warned. “During this primitive stage, it is our duty to treat AI as we would our own children – empowering, but with watchful guidance.”
Thursday’s event marked the AI task force’s second meeting since President Trump signed an executive order in April to advance AI education among American youth and students. The executive order set out a policy to “promote AI literacy and proficiency among Americans” by integrating it into education, providing training for teachers, and developing an “AI-ready workforce.”
The first lady sparked headlines for her embrace of AI after using it to narrate her audiobook, Melania. She also launched a national Presidential AI Challenge in August, encouraging students and teachers to “unleash their imagination and showcase the spirit of American innovation.” The challenge urges students to submit projects that involve the study or use of AI to address community challenges and encourages teachers to use “creative approaches” for using AI in K-12 education.
At the task force meeting, Trump called for Americans to “lead in shaping a new magnificent world” in the AI era, and said the Presidential AI Challenge is the “first major step to galvanize America’s parents, educators and students with this mission.”
During the event, McMahon quipped that Barron Trump, the Trumps’ college-aged son, was “helping you with a little bit of this as well,” receiving laughs from the audience. The education secretary also said her department is working to embrace AI through its grants, future investments and even its own workforce.
“In supporting our current grantees, we’ve issued a Dear Colleague letter telling anyone who has received an ED grant that AI tools and technologies are allowable use of federal education funds,” she said. “Our goal is to empower states and schools to begin exploring AI integration in a way that works best for their communities.”
Rollins spoke next, noting that rural Americans are too often “left behind” without the same technological innovations that are available in urban areas. “We cannot let that happen with AI,” the agriculture secretary said.
“I want to say that President Trump has been very clear, the United States will lead the world in artificial intelligence, period, full stop. Not China, not of our other foreign adversaries, but America,” Rollins said. “And with the First Lady’s leadership and the presidential AI challenge. We are making sure that our young people are ready to win that race.”
