It’s unclear how Melania’s initiative will follow her goals of protecting children from the harms of AI or equipping them for a workforce shaped by the technology. However, my source in the industry tells me the first lady’s involvement is expected to lead to “big commitments from a bunch of these companies” beyond the multibillion-dollar investment figures they’ve already promised the Trump administration.
The first lady is just starting her new front-woman role in a Trumpworld AI band that’s been on tour since the beginning of the new administration.
David Sacks is running point as the administration’s designated AI adviser and crypto czar, with Thiel Capital alum Michael Kratsios running the Office of Science and Technology Policy. There has been a slew of executive orders on federal AI policy, ranging from directing agencies to remove regulations to the more nebulous, such as preventing “woke AI” from taking hold in the federal government. There’s also the administration’s AI action plan, which outlines policy actions under three pillars: accelerating innovation by removing regulatory barriers, building an infrastructure for AI dominance with data centers and semiconductor manufacturing, and promoting AI standards globally to reduce dependence on foreign (read: Chinese) technology.
Melania’s Seat at the Table
The White House did not respond to a list of questions from WIRED about what the first lady’s AI education initiative will entail, what downsides she sees with the technology beyond deepfakes, and whether the US should prioritize supporting more eco-friendly infrastructure. Beckman also did not return a request for comment.
A source who was in the room for the AI dinner said the first lady seemed at ease with the tech executives, even if she wasn’t mingling much. In particular, this source noticed Melania seeming to listen attentively to Gerelyn Gilbert-Soto, the significant other of Google cofounder Sergey Brin, who was also in attendance.
“Melania, I could tell, was really paying attention when [Gilbert-Soto] was talking,” my source in the room tells me, adding that the first lady was “smiling and way more engaged than when the other tech CEOs were speaking, praising Trump.” Gilbert-Soto did not return a request for comment sent to representatives at Google.
For the AI industry, the first lady’s sole foray back into public life being in support of their products is more than welcome news.
In that room, there were “some of the most powerful businesspeople in the world who account for a very large percentage of the public market cap of technology and innovation,” the AI industry source in Trumpworld says.
“And you have the first lady sitting right next to the president in a room saying, ‘I want to insert myself and be involved in this,’” the executive continues. “And she really hasn’t been involved in much … So now for her to step out and insert herself, I think it’s fairly significant.”
This is an edition of Jake Lahut’s Inner Loop newsletter. Read previous newsletters here.