The First Lady spoke about technology’s potential for young people, including AI humanoid educators.
By CNBCTV18.com — March 26, 2026, 3:20:06 PM IST
First Lady Melania Trump walked alongside a humanoid robot on Wednesday, March 25, at an education summit she hosted at the White House. The machine, called Figure 03, is a lifelike, AI-powered humanoid designed to perform everyday tasks and showcase potential uses for artificial intelligence.
In a video Melania Trump shared on X, the black-and-white, faceless figure can be seen walking beside her. Her post read: “FOSTERING THE FUTURE TOGETHER. || 45 Nations || 1 Humanoid. || 1 Mission || Empower our Children. || The White House || 2026 Inaugural Global Summit.” The robot entered the venue with the First Lady, greeted attendees in multiple languages and waved to the audience. Videos of their interaction quickly circulated online.
“Figure 03, thank you for joining me. It’s fair to state you are my first American-made humanoid guest in the White House,” Melania Trump told the robot, according to NBC News.
Figure 03 was developed by AI robotics firm Figure, a company competing in the growing humanoid robotics sector. The robot stands about 5 feet 8 inches tall, is covered in mesh fabric and includes cameras in its hands and tactile sensors to help operators perceive and interact with objects.
The robot runs on a vision-language-action (VLA) system that processes real-time visual data from cameras and other sensors and uses AI reasoning to plan and execute tasks. Figure’s proprietary VLA model, called Helix, lets the robot respond to voice commands. Promotional footage shows it doing household chores such as laundry, loading dishwashers, folding clothes and picking up objects. Figure 03 is not currently sold direct to consumers nor marketed specifically for education.
At the summit, focused on AI and education, Melania addressed 45 female world leaders about technology’s role in young people’s lives and discussed the possibility of humanoid educators. “Very soon, artificial intelligence will move from our mobile phones to humanoids that deliver utility. Imagine a humanoid educator named ‘Plato.’ Access to the classical studies is now instantaneous — literature, science, art, philosophy, mathematics and history — humanity’s entire corpus of information is available in the comfort of your home,” she said.
(Edited by: Sudarsanan Mani)
