Move over, factory jobs. The Trump administration wants children designing the White House’s next artificial intelligence programs now.
In an eerie video posted to social media Tuesday, first lady Melania Trump spoke, almost as if she were AI herself, to young children and educators calling for them to create the next great AI products.
“Are you ready for an AI challenge?” the first lady said. “As someone who created an AI-powered audiobook and championed online safety through the TAKE IT DOWN Act, I’ve seen firsthand the promise of these powerful technology. Now I pass the torch of innovation to you.”
The “AI challenge,” as they’ve dubbed it, calls on little ones and educators alike to come up with products that will drive “a new Golden Age of innovation, human flourishing, and technological achievement for the American people,” per the program’s website.
And with an administration diving headfirst into a regulation-free relationship with the companies spearheading what’s needed to create these AI programs, this next step fits the bill.
After all, it was EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin who said that the Trump administration intends to make the U.S. the “AI capital of the world.” Through doubling down on dirty energy, allowing AI chip builder Nvidia to sell to China (for a cut of the profit), and other means, they’ve been hacking away at this goal.
As for Melania Trump’s part, the former model seems to be coming out of her hiding place to do her due diligence to the cause—or she’s just looking for someone to create a better AI narrator for her book release.
In all seriousness, the push for AI creation from young children comes at an interesting time from the White House. While reports “AI psychosis” are surfacing, in which people rely on chatbots and become convinced that something imaginary is real, Trump’s AI czar David Sacks says these concerns are similar to those we had in the days of the initial internet boom.
At the same time, the public’s reliance on these error-prone AI products has been allegedly tied to multiple suicides, and those alleged connections—and the public health threats they suggest—cannot be brushed aside.
As the first lady comes out of hiding to push for kids getting hands on with AI, she should also ask who these innovations will be really benefitting.