Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2025 is not a single person. Instead, the magazine has recognized the year's most influential figures as 'the architects' of artificial intelligence (AI).
Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, Meta head Mark Zuckerberg, X owner Elon Musk, and AI 'godmother' Fei-Fei Li are among those depicted on one of the magazine's two covers.
Experts say it highlights how quickly AI, and the firms behind it, are reshaping society.
It comes as a boom in the technology, ushered in by OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, continues at pace. Its boss Sam Altman said in September its chatbot is used by around 800 million people every week.
Big tech firms are pouring billions of dollars into AI and the infrastructure behind it in a bid to stay ahead of rivals.
There are two covers this year: one a piece of art depicting the letters AI surrounded by workers, and another a painting focused on the tech leaders themselves.
At Meta, Zuckerberg has reportedly focused the firm around the tech, including its AI chatbots, which it has embedded in its popular apps.
This year, the debate about how to wield AI responsibly gave way to a sprint to deploy it as fast as possible, according to Time. Editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs stated that no one had as great an impact in 2025 than those who imagined, designed, and built AI.
Forrester analyst Thomas Husson stated that 2025 could be seen as a tipping point for how frequently AI is now used in our day-to-day lives. Most consumers use it without even being aware of it.
Recognition of the AI architects is reminiscent of past group recognitions, with Time having previously awarded the honor to Ebola fighters in 2014 and whistleblowers in 2002. This shift from individual to collective recognition underscores the collaborative nature of AI advancements.
