Teachers’ Union Leader Rebukes Melania Trump’s AI Advocacy

The first lady defends her AI remarks from her technology summit in a social media post.

First Lady Melania Trump walks with a humanoid robot as she arrives for the final day of the Fostering the Future Together Global Coalition Summit in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Photo: The White House)

The public debate over the pros and cons of artificial intelligence has ignited discord between First Lady Melania Trump and the leader of one of the largest teachers’ unions, the American Federation of Teachers, in the United States.

On Thursday, Randi Weingarten, the president of the AFT, criticized the first lady and her Fostering the Future Together initiative, which Weingarten said replaces human teachers with artificial intelligence-powered robots.

“Well, give the first lady her due—she said the quiet part out loud,” Weingarten said in a statement. “We know this administration has no real understanding of what teachers do, and suggesting robots can replace them makes that clear. Anyone who cares about teaching and learning knows there is no su…