US First Lady speaks on tech amid gov't debate over AI regulation

US First Lady Melania Trump visited a school in northwestern North Carolina Tuesday to talk to elementary school students, teachers and staff about how they're using technology in the classroom.

Her long-planned trip to Ashe County came as tech and political leaders debate about how best to regulate artificial intelligence.

Some parents have expressed alarm about the widespread adoption of tablets with access to sites like YouTube even in classrooms with the youngest students.

She also announced that her Be Best initiative would be helping to provide 1,500 students in Ashe County with subscriptions to StudyFetch, an AI learning platform, and that Mountain View Elementary and other schools in the district would be receiving 100 Jetson Nano Developer Kits - small computers for running AI applications.

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

Last September, at a meeting of a White House task force on AI in education, she noted that the technology was boosting economic growth but also expressed some caution.

Technology in education is one of the first lady's signature issues, along with advocacy for foster children, and lobbying Congress to pass the "Take It Down Act" making revenge porn a crime.