Education Secretary Linda McMahon was undoubtedly mistaken when she referred to artificial intelligence as "A1"—as in A1 Steak Sauce—while answering a question about the use of AI in schools, prompting the company to seize the moment with a trolling post.
McMahon slipped up during her appearance at the ASU+GSV Summit on Tuesday. While discussing the state of modern education, she brought up the role of AI in today's classrooms.
What was really odd: She had correctly referred to artificial intelligence as "AI" just seconds prior.
She said:
“You know, [on the subject of] AI development. I mean, how can we educate at the speed of light if we don’t have the best technology around, you know, to do that?"
"I heard—I think it was a letter or a report that I heard this morning, I wish I could remember the source—but there’s a school system that’s gonna start making sure that first graders, or even pre-K, have A1 teaching every year starting that far down in the grades."
“And that’s a wonderful thing. Kids are sponges. They just absorb everything. Wasn’t all that long ago that it was, ‘We’re gonna have internet in our schools. Woo!’"
"Now, OK, let’s see A1 and how can that be helpful? How can it be helpful in one-on-one instruction? How can it be helpful in absorbing more information for those fast learners?"
"It can be more one-on-one directed. Those are the kinds of things and innovations that I wanna see continue to develop.”
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Why are they defunding the Department of Education again?
And not long afterward, A1 itself decided to troll McMahon via tweet after seeing an excellent marketing opportunity, writing:
"You heard her. Every school should have access to A.1."
The company's post included a graphic of A1 steak sauce that included the following text:
"Agree, best to start them early."
You can see the post and the graphic below.
A1
People couldn't get enough of the company's snark.
McMahon, who has no experience in education whatsoever, is best known as one of the founders—along with her husband, fellow wrestling promoter Vince McMahon—of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE).
Her nomination drew backlash from education professionals who've pointed out that McMahon has backed dismantling the very department she’s been tapped to lead. The Trump administration's efforts to defund the department via billionaire Elon Musk's DOGE initiative continue.
