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The U.S. first lady Melania Trump made headlines Wednesday after she walked in with a humanoid robot to a summit at the White House focused on AI and education.
The black-and-white humanoid robot dubbed Figure 03 walked side by side, almost in sync with Melania. It greeted the First Spouses from 45 countries in attendance in several languages. Melania called the “first American-made humanoid guest in the White House.”
Figure 03 was only introduced in October by a Chicago-based robotics firm, Figure AI. The CEO Brett Adcock affirmed that Figure 03 acted “fully autonomous” and that there wasn’t any human reading scripts for the robot.
So proud to see F.03 make history as the first humanoid robot in the White House pic.twitter.com/tXsxpEErsi
— Brett Adcock (@adcock_brett) March 25, 2026
Many were impressed by the entrance, but Randi Weingarten, the president of the second-largest teachers’ union in the U.S., the American Federation of Teachers, picked offense at some of the comments by the first lady regarding the role of humanoid robots in the future of kids’ education.
Melania pitches humanoid robots for “personalized learning”
The first lady said artificial intelligence and the emergence of humanoid educators will shape the future of education systems.
Humanoid educators will provide a personalized experience for students, she said, adding that they can boost kids’ analytical skills and enable them to develop deeper critical thinking. “The biproduct – a more well-rounded lifestyle for our children,” reads the White House report.
The American Federation of Teachers president expressed sharp disapproval of Melania’s comments, saying “what she did yesterday was every parent’s nightmare,” NBC News reported Thursday.
During a Workers First AI Summit hosted by AFL-CIO, Weingarten said “This is exactly what Big Tech wants to create: a sense of a society that is being led by and taught by robots, displacing every bit of all of who we are, starting with education.”
She pushed back against the idea of delegating education to AI, saying, “It completely misunderstands not only what American education is all about but what kids really need.” In her view, AI should only be a tool in the hands of humans. “We need human beings to actually help other human beings in the teaching and learning process.”
This is the first time Melania has talked about AI and humanoid robots in education. During the meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education, she famously said “the robots are here,” adding that AI will underpin not just education, but also America’s entire GDP.
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English (US)