A humanoid robot made an unusual appearance at the Fostering the Future Together Global Coalition Summit on Wednesday, walking the red carpet at the White House alongside Melania Trump. The robot, Figure 03, was presented as an AI-powered educator named "Plato" during the two-day summit.
The first lady used the moment to pitch a vision where such robots give students personalized access to knowledge, including philosophy and art, adapting to their pace and emotional state in real time.
What Is The Figure 03 Robot And What Can It Do?
Figure 03 is the third-generation humanoid robot from Silicon Valley-based company Figure AI, launched in October last year.
Priced at around $25,000 according to Forbes, it was originally built for home use, with demo videos showing it folding laundry, handling eggs, operating a washing machine, and bringing drinks to people relaxing by the pool. It has also been demonstrated in office settings as a receptionist and a package deliverer.
The robot runs on a proprietary AI engine called Helix, which allows it to carry out tasks on its own and respond to voice commands. At the summit, it walked slowly down the red carpet to deliver opening remarks.
"I'm grateful to be part of this historic movement to empower children with technology and education," it said, before greeting the audience in several languages.
Why Did The Humanoid Robot's Appearance Spark Backlash?
The summit brought together leaders from 45 nations and 28 technology organizations, with guests from Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Palantir.
It is part of Melania Trump's Be Best: Fostering the Future initiative, which was introduced in 2018 to address cyberbullying and support children affected by the opioid crisis.
US Education Secretary Linda McMahon, speaking at a roundtable on the first day, said AI is now a top priority for the Department of Education. "If we're able to scale these resources effectively by investing in AI infrastructure and training, we can offer expert instructions across countless fields, to hire volumes of people at a fraction of the cost," she said.
The event drew criticism from those concerned about AI's growing role in classrooms. Many took to social media to warn that robots could eventually replace teachers.
On one Huffington Post Instagram post, a commenter wrote, "Nice, getting rid of educators in favor of a robot," while another said, "No, I don't want to imagine a world with emotionless robots educating our children." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.