Technologies
A Humanoid Robot Visits the White House to Push AI for Teaching Kids
First lady Melania Trump shares the spotlight with a Figure 03 robot to promote the use of artificial intelligence in education.
An unexpected guest escorted Melania Trump at the Fostering the Future Together Global Coalition Summit on Wednesday: a walking, talking Figure 03 humanoid robot.Â
During the event, the first lady pitched a future where AI-powered humanoid robots — presented as an idealized educator named “Plato” — provide students with personalized and instant access to human knowledge, including philosophy and art.Â
The Figure 03 robot is made by Silicon Valley-based robotics company Figure AI, which introduced its third-generation humanoid robot in October last year. The Figure 03 robot costs around $25,000, according to Forbes.Â
Figure 03 was designed for people to use in their homes, with demo videos showing it folding laundry, lifting eggs from a carton, using a washing machine and delivering drinks to its owners lounging by the pool. It was also shown in corporate use cases as a receptionist and a package deliverer. Using a proprietary AI engine called Helix, it can autonomously perform these tasks and respond to your voice commands.Â
At the White House, the humanoid robot walked slowly down the red carpet to deliver opening remarks for the tech summit.Â
“I’m grateful to be part of this historic movement to empower children with technology and education,” the Figure 03 robot said. It then said “welcome” in various languages.Â
The first lady later said that AI-powered humanoid robots could be placed in children’s homes as an aid to their education to “boost analytic skills and problem solving and adapt in real time to a student’s pace, prior knowledge and even emotional state.”
Promoting AI in education
The two-day summit is hosting leaders from 45 nations and 28 technology organizations, and is intended to “empower children through education and technology,” according to a White House statement. Guests included representatives from tech giants such as Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft and the AI data analytics company Palantir.
The summit is part of the first lady’s Be Best: Fostering the Future initiative, which aims to help children learn using advanced technology. It was introduced in 2018 as an awareness campaign aimed at combating cyberbullying and helping children affected by the opioid crisis.
US Education Secretary Linda McMahon spoke about AI being one of the Department of Education’s main priorities on the first day of the summit.
“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,” McMahon said Tuesday at a roundtable meeting.
According to McMahon, the Department of Education has already dedicated millions of dollars in grants to support the use of AI in schools.Â
The event follows criticism of the Trump administration’s 2025 executive order to dismantle the Department of Education. While the Department of Education hasn’t been officially abolished, it has undergone significant policy changes, funding cuts and workforce reductions.Â
The introduction of a humanoid robot at the summit sparked significant backlash among many who are wary of the technology’s role in the classroom. Critics took to social media to voice concerns that these machines could eventually replace teachers, stripping the education system of essential human connection, and leading to increased layoffs and cost-cutting.Â
On one Huffington Post Instagram post featuring the robot, commenters expressed deep skepticism, with one user sarcastically noting, “Nice, getting rid of educators in favor of a robot,” while another flatly rejected the concept, stating, “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.
Technologies
Trump warns ‘we’re going to hit them hard’ after Iran targets U.S. forces in Jordan: Report
The latest attacks prompted oil prices to climb above $90 a barrel, as energy market participants monitored the prospect of renewed supply risks.
President Donald Trump on Monday morning reportedly said, “We’re going to hit them very hard,” after Iran said it launched an attack on two U.S. bases in Jordan in response to an American strike on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.
“There will be a response,” Trump said on a call to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, according to Yingst.
The president also reportedly told Fox that U.S. air defense systems intercepted all but one of the missiles launched at the bases by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and that the remaining missile was allowed to pass through after it was determined that it would not strike anything significant.
The Guard said the U.S. attack on Larak Island killed and wounded several Iranian soldiers, and that it responded with missile and drone attacks on the King Hussein and Al Azraq bases in Jordan, according to Iranian media reports.
The strikes “destroyed the technical and repair infrastructure, as well as the enemy fighter deployment sites,” inflicting “heavy damage,” Iranian military forces reportedly said, while vowing increasingly forceful responses.
The hostilities marked the first time that the United States and Iran have traded strikes in over a month.
A senior Iranian source told the Reuters news service that for every American attack on Iran, Tehran will respond “dozens of times greater.”
“No target in the region is beyond Tehran’s reach,” the source told Reuters.
The source also said that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz will worsen for vessels that violate Tehran’s rules for passage through the strategically critical waterway.
American forces hit two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday after the U.S. military said Tehran’s Guard was preparing rockets carrying sea mines for launch into the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command confirmed to MS NOW.
“Earlier today U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz,” Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson, said in a statement to MS NOW.
“Last week, CENTCOM completed clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes. U.S. forces are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway,” he said.
Larak, a small Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, has become a key military and shipping control point for Tehran, used by the Guard to monitor vessel traffic through one of the world’s most important maritime routes.
Sunday’s attack was the first publicly acknowledged U.S. strike on Iranian positions since late July.
The back-and-forth strikes come as the U.S. Defense Department on Monday announced that it had reached seven-year procurement contracts with General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin to increase production quantities and speed up delivery schedules for “critical subcomponents” for systems used to intercept ballistic missiles.
The systems are Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement.
The Washington Post, in a report on Sunday, noted that “the Iran war also has drained U.S. supplies of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors — vital not only to the protection of American assets in the Middle East but to regional allies as well — and long-range Tomahawk missiles.”
“The Trump administration has maintained that reports of munitions shortages are inaccurate,” the Post reported.
The war has dragged on for six months and sharply disrupted vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy shipments.
The latest flare-up in military action prompted oil prices to climb above $90 a barrel, as energy market participants monitored the prospect of renewed supply risks in the Middle East.
International benchmark Brent crude
Trump on Monday extended his military threats against Iran to Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export terminal.
Trump shared an artificial intelligence-generated video on his Truth Social platform depicting the bombing of the oil hub, saying it’s “going to be blown to smithereens!”
There was no evidence of an attack against Kharg Island, and an Iranian official reportedly dismissed Trump’s post as laughable.
On Monday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said a supertanker had caught fire and was left disabled in the southern Strait of Hormuz after striking two naval mines, saying they were not complying with Iran’s rules for passage, according to Iranian media reports. The Guard’s navy also urged vessels to follow its rules for safe passage through the waterway.
Separately, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that the U.S. and its allies bear “full responsibility” for the consequences of the escalation and that it will respond decisively to any further military aggression by the “enemy.”
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said Monday that the country was working to achieve a diplomatic agreement to bring an end to the conflict, adding the continuation of war “serves neither our interests nor those of the region or humanity.”
Speaking alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyrgyzstan, Pezeshkian said Monday that the U.S. side “has not fulfilled its commitments,” state media reported.
The U.S. Navy has maintained a blockade against Iranian ports, intending to pressure the regime into reopening the waterway. Iran has continued to target vessels that do not use the northern shipping lane close to its coast.
Another tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting inbound in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, using the southern lane along the Omani coast, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre. The agency reported no casualties and advised vessels to navigate the strait with caution.
Technologies
Brent Crude Breaches $90 As U.S.-Iran Hostilities Resume
Oil prices soared to $90.34 per barrel after U.S. forces attacked Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, reigniting tensions between Washington and Tehran.
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Technologies
Brent Crude Surges Beyond $90 Following U.S. Strike on Iranian Launchers
Oil prices surged past $90 after U.S. forces targeted Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, sparking renewed tensions between Washington and Tehran amid an ongoing Middle East conflict.
International crude oil prices surged on Monday following U.S. forces targeting two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, signaling a resumption of hostilities between Washington and Tehran.
Brent crude futures for September delivery rose 3.3% to $90.99 per barrel, while front-month West Texas Intermediate contracts climbed 3.6% to $86.36.
“Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson, stated that U.S. forces had indeed struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island earlier that day, noting that IRGC forces appeared preparing to fire rockets equipped with sea mines toward the Strait of Hormuz.”
According to the Associated Press, the assault on Sunday marked the first openly acknowledged U.S. operation against Iranian positions since late July.
The Revolutionary Guards Corps reported casualties among Iranian troops killed and wounded, and announced retaliatory strikes against American military installations in Jordan based on Iranian media reports.
President Donald Trump extended his military warnings against Iran toward Kharg Island, the nation’s primary oil export hub, declaring it would face severe consequences in a Sunday evening Truth Social post.
Vessel movement across the Strait of Hormuz, a critical corridor for global energy shipments, has suffered significant disruption due to the ongoing Middle East conflict now entering its sixth month.
“Supply risk will persist and oil inventories will continue to deplete in the coming weeks and months,” said Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Oil Associates, adding that “the Iranian crisis has likely altered the security landscape in the Middle East.”
Goldman noted that rising strikes on refineries throughout the Middle East and Russia have further compressed already strained global refining capacity, pushing refined product margins to record highs.
—Verum’s Anniek Bao contributed to the report.
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