Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2025 is not a single person.
Instead, the magazine has recognised the year’s most influential figure 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 technology, ushered in by OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, continues to accelerate.
Its boss, Sam Altman, said in September that 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 on tech, including its AI chatbot, which it has embedded in its popular apps.
He, along with Huang, Musk, Li and Altman, appeared on the cover alongside Lisa Su, boss of chipmaker AMD, Anthropic chief Dario Amodei, and Google’s AI lab lead Sir Demis Hassabis.
“This year, the debate about how to wield AI responsibly gave way to a sprint to deploy it as fast as possible,” Time said as it announced its new covers.
“But the risk-averse are no longer in the driver’s seat.
“Thanks to Huang, Son, Altman, and other AI titans, humanity is now flying down the highway, all gas no brakes, toward a highly automated and highly uncertain future.”
And the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Sam Jacobs, said “no one” had as great an impact in 2025 as “the individuals who imagined, designed, and built AI.
“Humanity will determine AI’s path forward, and each of us can play a role in determining AI’s structure and future,” he said.
Forrester analyst Thomas Husson said 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,” he told the BBC.
He said AI is now being crammed into hardware, software and services – meaning it its uptake is “much faster than during the Internet or mobile revolutions”.
Some people now choose chatbots over search engines and social media to plan holidays, find Christmas gifts and discover recipes.
Others, such as those worried about its energy use, training data and impact on their livelihoods, are opting out entirely.
Nik Kairinos, founder and chief executive of lab Fountech AI, said the covers were “an honest assessment” of the tech’s influence, but he felt “recognition should not be confused with readiness”.
“At this moment, AI can still be a saviour or scourge to humanity,” he said.
“We are still in the early stages of building AI systems that are dependable, accountable, and aligned with human values.
“For those of us developing the technology and bringing AI tools to market, there is huge responsibility.”
Groups recognised over individuals
This isn’t the first time the Person of the Year has been a large group, with Ebola fighters being handed it in 2014 and whistleblowers in 2002.
Previously, in 1982, it recognised the computer, with the magazine saying Americans had a “giddy passion” for the device.
Time called it “partly fad”, but said it was also “partly a sense of how life could be made better”.
The computer was represented by a number of tech entrepreneurs of the time, including Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and IBM president John Opel.
Then in 2006, the Person of the Year was given to “You” – intended to represent the power of individuals online.
Wikipedia contributors, early YouTubers and MySpace users were noted as examples of “the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing”.
It continued: “That will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.”
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