Most years, Time Magazine names a person who “for better or for worse … has done the most to influence the events of the year.” The first-ever honoree was Charles Lindbergh in 1927, honored for being the first person to complete a solo transatlantic flight. Since then, Time has named a mix of public figures for the distinction, including Mahatma Gandhi, Franklin D. Roosevelt (three times), and Adolf Hitler. More recently, the title has gone to Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Taylor Swift, and last year, Donald Trump clinched the title for the second time.
This year, the magazine chose “The Architects of AI,” leaving some people rolling their eyes and prediction market bettors frustrated.
One of this week’s covers for the magazine features some of the biggest names in AI, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, and AMD’s Lisa Su, who is seen perched on a steel beam high above Manhattan in a recreation of the iconic “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” photograph.
“This is the story of how AI changed our world in 2025, in new and exciting and sometimes frightening ways. It is the story of how Huang and other tech titans grabbed the wheel of history, developing technology and making decisions that are reshaping the information landscape, the climate, and our livelihoods,” wrote Charlie Campbell, Andrew R. Chow, and Billy Perrigo in the magazine’s accompanying feature story.
This isn’t the first time Time has given the honor to a group of people. The first instance was in 1950, when it gave the honor to “The American Fighting-man.” Since then, a dozen others have followed, including the Apollo astronauts in 1968, American women in 1975, and the Me Too movement in 2017.
Sometimes the magazine hasn’t chosen humans at all. “The Computer” took home the gold in 1982, and, more ominously, “The Endangered Earth” was the “Person” of the Year in 1988.
So it’s no surprise that many expected AI itself to receive the honor this year. It was even one of the most heavily bet-on outcomes in prediction markets. Aside from AI being a top favorite, other leading picks included Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Charlie Kirk.
Now, frustrated Polymarket users are leaving angry comments on the platform over the decision.
“The Architects of AI is of course part of AI, AI could mean the AI industry or everything that related to AI, if no other people were listed together or in front of AI, AI should be Yes,” wrote one user who had bets on AI as well as Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Sam Altman.
“It is big scam. It is fraud,” wrote another.
Although AI lost out this year, if it ever delivers on the promises its creators keep making, who knows, it might take the title next time. If it achieves the god-like status that the most AGI-pilled accelerationists insist is coming, it could be crowned the last “Person of the Year” ever.
English (US) ·