With basic literacy levels in children in the USA falling to near historic lows, the First Lady has stepped up with a provocative answer to the crisis, as reported by the NYT.



If, like me, you're sceptical that the decline in functional literacy could be even partially blamed on the absence of robots, we should take note :

Last fall, researchers at the University of Chicago’s Human-Robot Interaction Lab published a study that showed that children demonstrated less anxiety when reading to a robot versus a human teacher. In other studies, children have formed social bonds with robots as they have practiced skills including handwriting and completing puzzles.

I'm also intrigued and, honestly, slightly disappointed by the aesthetic of her humanoid. And its name - "Figure 3"? Aside from the Prisoner-like inhumanity of it, this immediately puts the humanoid on a supercession conveyor belt, trundling inevitably toward the CEX display of pre-loved robots as the world excitedly anticipates the arrival of Figure 4.