Melania Trump has one big message for students as AI debate intensifies

“We need to lead … AI, as a country,” Trump told reporters during a visit to Mountain View Elementary in North Carolina.

US First Lady Melania Trump on Tuesday urged students to embrace artificial intelligence and learn how to use the technology, warning that those who fail to do so could be left behind.

“We need to lead … AI, as a country,” Melania Trump told reporters during a visit to Mountain View Elementary in North Carolina. She said students should remain vigilant about the technology but stressed that AI would be an important part of their future.

“But this is our future, and we need to guide them and teach them what is available. If not, they will stay behind, and we need to be the first in [the] United States to lead,” she said.

Melania Trump pushes AI education in schools

Melania Trump's comments came as she announced a partnership with Nvidia aimed at expanding access to AI tools in classrooms.

Under the initiative, Nvidia will provide four-year StudyFetch subscription licenses to 1,500 students in the Ashe County School District. The company will also provide 100 Jetson Nano Developer Kits for students to experiment with robotics as part of a partnership with Trump's Be Best program.

During her visit, Trump spent nearly two hours touring classrooms and speaking with students about their projects. Students demonstrated work involving video simulations, robotic arms and AI-assisted project design.

‘Dream big’ with AI tools

Trump encouraged students to use AI as a tool for creativity and experimentation, envisioning some of them developing robots that could eventually be displayed at the White House.

“Dream big and use these AI tools to build something never created before,” she told students.

“Maybe one of you will create the next great robot. And if you do, make sure you bring it to the White House to show me!” she added.

Her message presented AI as a technology students should learn to work with rather than fear, while also acknowledging the need for vigilance.

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