Time Magazine Names AI Architects as 2025 Person of the Year
Time Magazine's 2025 Person of the Year is awarded to a group—the architects of artificial intelligence—rather than an individual. The covers feature prominent tech figures such as Jensen Huang, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Fei-Fei Li, while a second cover highlights other tech leaders including Lisa Su, Dario Amodei, Demis Hassabis, and Sam Altman.
Time's editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs remarked that no one had as great an impact in 2025 as those who imagined, designed, and built AI, emphasizing that humanity will determine AI's future path. Forrester analyst Thomas Husson described 2025 as a tipping point for AI, noting its rapid adoption across hardware, software, and services—faster than the Internet or mobile revolutions.
The AI boom is driven by substantial big-tech investments in AI infrastructure to maintain competitive advantage. OpenAI's ChatGPT, launched in 2022, was reported to have around 800 million weekly users as of September 2025. Despite excitement, concerns remain regarding energy consumption, training data, and the impact on livelihoods, prompting some individuals to forgo AI adoption.
Historically, Time has named groups as Person of the Year, such as the Ebola fighters in 2014 and whistleblowers in 2002. Previous related recognitions include the computer in 1982 and 'You' in 2006 representing online power.
The article highlights the two Time covers—the AI-letter artwork and the portrait of tech leaders—drawing visual inspiration from the iconic 'Lunch atop a Skyscraper' motif.
