The White House East Room has seen a lot over the years, but not many guests have walked in on metal feet and thanked the first lady in 11 languages. At a White House summit on artificial intelligence and children's safety on Wednesday, Melania Trump introduced "Figure 3," an American-built humanoid robot that delivered a short, carefully scripted speech to an audience of tech execs and spouses of world leaders, CNN reports. The machine, built by California robotics startup Figure AI, slowly crossed the room and scanned the audience before speaking.
"Thank you, first lady Melania Trump, for inviting me to the White House. It is an honor to be at Fostering the Future Together's global coalition inaugural meeting," the robot said, per the AP. "I'm Figure 03, a humanoid built for the United States of America, I am grateful to be part of this historic movement to empower children with technology and education. " The robot then signed off with greetings in languages ranging from English to Arabic. The company says the third-generation robot is designed to help people with household tasks like laundry and cleaning.
The first lady called the robot her "first American-made humanoid guest in the White House" and described the moment as a turning point in how AI will show up in everyday life. She predicted that artificial intelligence will soon move from phones into human-shaped machines that can navigate schools and other real-world spaces, floating the idea of a "humanoid educator named Plato" teaching classical studies while freeing children to spend more time with friends, sports, and other interests. At the same time, she added a warning that safeguarding children "is always paramount."
The appearance capped the second day of the first lady's "Fostering the Future Together" initiative, which brought first spouses including Israel's Sara Netanyahu and Ukraine's Olena Zelenska to Washington. On Tuesday, the first lady urged closer partnerships with companies like Meta and OpenAI to center children's well-being in AI development. Her own role on Wednesday was brief, CNN reports. She stayed for about seven minutes of opening remarks, then left before a scheduled panel on AI in education.
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