Established by President Trump’s April 2025 executive order, the White House Task Force on AI Education is chaired by director of science and technology policy Michael Kratsios, and is tasked with promoting AI literacy and proficiency among America’s youth and educators, organizing a nationwide AI challenge and forging public-private partnerships to provide AI education resources to K-12 students.
“The robots are here. Our future is no longer science fiction,” First Lady Melania Trump said in opening remarks. “But, as leaders and parents, we must manage AI’s growth responsibly. During this primitive stage, it is our duty to treat AI as we would our own children: empowering but with watchful guidance.”
MAINTAINING U.S. COMPETITIVENESS
In a recording of the meeting Sept. 4, multiple speakers, including Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Special Advisor for AI and Crypto David Sacks, stressed that AI will define the future of U.S. work and international competitiveness, with explicit framing against rivals like China.
“The United States will lead the world in artificial intelligence, period, full stop, not China, not any of our other foreign adversaries, but America,” Rollins said in the recording. “We are making sure that our young people are ready to win that race.”
In order to do so, though, Sacks noted that K-12 and higher education systems must adapt quickly.
“AI is going to be the ultimate boost for our workers,” Sacks said. “And it is important that they learn from an early age how to use AI."
The Department of Education signaled that federal funding will also shift to incentivize schools’ adoption of AI. Secretary Linda McMahon said applications that include AI-based solutions will be “more strongly considered” and could receive “bonus points” in the review process.
EMBRACING CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Several officials at the meeting urged schools and communities not to view AI as a threat, but as a tool for growth.
“It’s not one of those things to be afraid of,” McMahon said. “Let’s embrace it. Let’s develop AI-based solutions to real-world problems and cultivate an AI-informed, future-ready workforce.”
Secretary Chris Wright of the Department of Energy linked the success of AI adoption to larger infrastructure challenges.
“We will not win in AI if we don’t massively grow our electricity production,” he said. "Perhaps the killer app, the most important use of AI, is for education and to fix one of the greatest American shortcomings, our K-12 education system.”
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Workforce training and reskilling emerged as another priority, with Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer describing apprenticeships and on-the-job training as essential to preparing workers for an AI-driven economy.
“On-the-job training programs will help build the mortgage-paying jobs that AI will create while also enhancing the unique skills required to succeed in various industries,” Chavez-DeRemer said. She tied these efforts to the president’s goal of 1 million new apprenticeships nationwide.
Alex Kotran, chief executive officer of the education nonprofit aiEDU, told Government Technology that members of the task force spent a notable amount of time discussing rural schools and the importance of reaching underserved students, especially in regard to preparing rural students for the modern workforce.
PRIVATE-SECTOR COMMITMENTS
In addition to White House officials, attendees included high-level technology executives and entrepreneurs committed to expanding U.S. AI education.
During the recorded meeting, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna pledged to train 2 million American workers in AI skills over the next three years, noting that “no organization can do it alone.” Similarly, Google CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted efforts to use AI to personalize learning worldwide, envisioning a future “where every student, regardless of their background or location, can learn anything in the world in a way that works best for them.”
In a recent co-authored blog post on Microsoft's website, the company's Vice Chair and President Brad Smith and LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky said that empowering teachers and students with modern-day AI tools, continuously developing AI skills and creating economic opportunity by connecting new skills to jobs are the top priorities in U.S. AI education.
“We believe delivering on the real promise of AI depends on how broadly it’s diffused,” they wrote. “This requires investment and innovation in AI education, training, and job certification.”
In its efforts to increase exposure to educational AI tools, Microsoft committed to providing a year’s subscription to Copilot for college students free of charge, expanding access to Microsoft AI tools in schools, $1.25 million in educator grants for teachers pioneering AI-powered learning, free LinkedIn Learning AI courses, and AI training for job seekers and certifications for community colleges.
LOOKING AHEAD
In a phone call with Government Technology last week, Kotran expressed excitement following the task force meeting, which he was invited to, stating he was heartened that education appears to be taking center stage at our nation’s capital.
“The White House Task Force meeting today, I think, represents an opening to actually harness the power of the White House,” he said. “But also the federal government to just motivate all the other actors that are part of the education system to make the change that’s going to be required.”
But, he emphasized, the private sector must support educators and school leaders in their adoption of AI, considering recent cuts to education funding. The measure of whether the task force is successful, according to Kotran, will depend on if the private sector supports states in AI tools and implementation.
“It’s not going to be enough for a school to have one elective class called ‘introduction to AI,’” Kotran said. “The only chance we have to make progress on AI readiness is for companies, the private sector, philanthropies, to put resources on the table.”
