A team of Indian-American students from Virginia has won the inaugural Presidential Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge National Champion Award for developing a chatbot designed to help prevent bullying. The award was presented at the White House on Tuesday by US First Lady Melania Trump during a ceremony recognising young innovators across the country.
The winning project, titled “Friendzone Chatbot Bullying Prevention App,” was created by a five-member student team from Aldie, Virginia. The team included Aarna Jaiswal, Eshani Khatri, Riva Madda, Samhitha Pinnamareddy and Sanuli Rathnayake. Their application was recognised in the Elementary School Track 2 category for its focus on using artificial intelligence to address bullying and provide support to affected students.
The chatbot was designed to act as a digital support tool for children experiencing bullying, offering guidance, resources and coping strategies. Organisers of the competition said the project stood out for its practical application of AI in addressing a sensitive and widely relevant social issue. The initiative reflects growing interest among students in using emerging technologies to solve real-world problems.
Also Read: Iran Signals Reassessment of US Peace Talks Amid Rising Military Tensions
The Presidential AI Challenge attracted widespread participation, with more than 20,000 students from across the United States submitting entries. Participants represented all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Department of Defence schools located internationally. The competition featured multiple categories across elementary, middle and high school levels, highlighting innovation at different stages of education.
In other categories, a team from NorthStar Middle School in Washington won in Middle School Track 1 for their “Skillup” project. In the high school division, Khandakar Mahin from Pennsylvania was awarded the national title in Track 1 for a project using computer vision technology to assist in identifying hotel rooms during criminal investigations. Mahin is set to graduate this week and will join Harvard University later this year.
Speaking at the event, Melania Trump praised the participants for their innovation and creativity, stating that they represent “the best of America” and calling them the country’s future leaders. The challenge was launched to encourage students to explore artificial intelligence and develop solutions to real-world challenges through technology.
Also Read: US Appeals Court Orders Further Review Of Alabama Nitrogen Execution Protocol