During an event held at the White House on Thursday, First Lady Melania Trump made rare public statements, urging leaders in the public and commercial sectors to educate youngsters about the development of artificial intelligence.
“The robots are here. “Our future is no longer science fiction,” Trump declared at her first public appearance since July 13 when she chaired a White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education meeting in the East Room.
We must carefully oversee AI’s progress as parents and leaders. It is our responsibility to handle AI at this early stage like we would our own children: empowering but with careful supervision,” she added, urging leaders to give infrastructure and energy, national security, and talent top priority as the technology develops.
The First Lady’s attendance at the gathering represented a renewed commitment to her first-term “Be Best” program, which focused on children’s online safety. On Thursday, she indicated her interest in broadening the scope of Trump’s “Be Best” policy goals to include responsible stewardship of artificial intelligence, something she has yet to do since her husband’s return to the White House.
She recently promoted a presidential AI competition for school-age students, highlighting the technology’s potential as well as its risks. She spearheaded an attempt earlier this year to enact the “Take It Down Act,” a law designed to shield Americans from revenge and deepfake pornography.
In a video launching the challenge, she stated, “As someone who developed an AI-powered audio book and advocated for online safety through the Take It Down Act, I’ve witnessed firsthand the promise of this powerful technology.”
The event on Thursday was the first lady’s eighth official White House engagement of President Donald Trump’s second term, highlighting her sparse use of her enormous platform as an American first lady and her relative lack of presence in Washington, DC.
She has been spotted in public 20 days since the president took office again, which is less than half of the 46 days she spent at this stage during his first term, when she traveled to seven different countries and attended several meetings and press briefings with international leaders at the Oval Office.
However, those with knowledge of the situation say Melania Trump and her husband communicate often, usually through calls or messages throughout the day. She spoke on Thursday on emerging technologies with a group of CEOs and Cabinet members.
“We are living in a moment of wonder,” she said, “And it is our responsibility to prepare the children of America.”
