Washington, June 10 (IANS) White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios called artificial intelligence a “magical technology” but said its benefits would only be fully realised if it became accessible and understandable to ordinary Americans, particularly young people.
Speaking at the White House during the Presidential AI Challenge National Champion Awards Ceremony, Kratsios said the initiative was designed to encourage students from all backgrounds to engage with AI and apply it to real-world problems.
“AI is a magical technology, but it can and needs to be demystified,” Kratsios said. “This challenge has empowered every kind of young American, even the ones who aren’t focused on science and mathematics, to design incredible technological projects through the creative use of artificial intelligence.”
Kratsios credited First Lady Melania Trump for supporting the programme. He said the challenge reflected a broader effort to prepare young Americans for a future increasingly shaped by advanced technologies.
“Together we are helping to prepare America’s young people to build the nation of tomorrow with the most advanced tools available to them today,” he said.
According to Kratsios, the competition was created with a straightforward goal.
“The purpose of this national competition was simple — to bring young Americans from across the country together in using AI tools to improve the lives of their communities,” he said.
He traced the programme’s origins to President Donald Trump’s April 2025 executive order on AI education, which established the AI Education Task Force and launched the Presidential AI Challenge.
Kratsios said participation exceeded expectations, with tens of thousands of students producing more than 2,500 projects focused on solving local and national challenges through AI.
“Our competitors in this historic challenge produced more than two and a half thousand projects aiming to overcome some of their communities greatest challenges using AI,” he said.
The projects addressed a wide range of issues, including education, local government services, crime-fighting and public safety, he said.
“They worked on everything, tools that help navigate the complexity of school and the online world, that improve local government efficiency and effectiveness, that synthesize real world information for crime fighting, that guard their communities against hazardous chemicals and they all succeeded,” Kratsios said.
Calling the students pioneers of a new technological era, he said their work demonstrated how AI could become an everyday tool for solving practical problems.
“The projects you have developed are extraordinary, uncommonly creative applications of a novel technology,” he said. “You are taking the first steps in making these tools an integral part of everyday life, transforming our world for the better.”
Kratsios linked the competition to the broader American tradition of innovation and exploration.
“Today we are grateful for this opportunity to celebrate the next generation of American exploration and the readiness of these young people to master the frontiers of artificial intelligence,” he said.
The Trump administration has placed growing emphasis on AI education and workforce development as part of its strategy to maintain US leadership in emerging technologies. Federal agencies, universities and private companies have expanded programmes aimed at preparing students for an economy increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.
–IANS
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