Time Magazine Names 'Architects of AI' as 2025 Person of the Year

On Thursday, TIME magazine selected the “Architects of AI” as its 2025 Person of the Year, recognizing the visionaries behind artificial intelligence as it cemented its transformative impact on society. The choice highlights a pivotal year when AI’s potential “roared into view,” shaping both technology and culture in irreversible ways.

TIME Magazine Honors the Architects of AI

TIME magazine announced its selection of the “Architects of AI” as its 2025 Person of the Year, noting that this year marked a turning point when the potential of artificial intelligence “roared into view” with irreversible consequences.

Recognizing People, Not Just Technology

The magazine specifically highlighted “the individuals who imagined, designed, and built AI,” rather than AI as a technology itself. This follows TIME’s occasional precedent of selecting concepts over people, as seen with the endangered Earth in 1988 and the personal computer in 1982.

Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs explained, “We've named not just individuals but also groups, more women than our founders could have imagined (though still not enough), and, on rare occasions, a concept: the endangered Earth, in 1988, or the personal computer, in 1982.” The 1982 selection of the PC over Apple co-founder Steve Jobs later inspired books and a movie.

TIME 2025 Cover and Featured AI Leaders

Iconic Cover Inspired by “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper”

One of the cover images pays homage to the famous 1930s photograph “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper”, depicting eight tech leaders seated on a beam:

• Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO)

• Jensen Huang (Nvidia CEO)

• Mark Zuckerberg (Meta CEO)

• Elon Musk (Tesla CEO)

• Lisa Su (AMD CEO)

• Demis Hassabis (Google DeepMind CEO)

• Dario Amodei (Anthropic CEO)

• Fei-Fei Li (AI pioneer and founder of World Labs)

Another cover shows scaffolding surrounding giant letters spelling “AI”, designed to resemble computer components.

Billionaire Status of Featured Leaders

Five of the eight featured leaders—Musk, Zuckerberg, Huang, Altman, and Su—are already billionaires, with a combined net worth of USD 870 billion, according to the latest Forbes estimates. A significant portion of this wealth has been amassed during the past three years of intense AI development.

AI Moves into the Mainstream

2025 Marks AI’s Shift to Everyday Life

According to Thomas Husson, principal analyst at Forrester, 2025 was the year AI transitioned from “a novel technology explored by early adopters to one where a critical mass of consumers see it as part of their mainstream lives.” The growing prominence of AI was highlighted when several CEOs of AI companies attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration at the Capitol this year.

Jacobs summarised the impact, stating, “This was the year when artificial intelligence's full potential roared into view, and when it became clear that there will be no turning back or opting out.”

Caution and Other Contenders

Expert Warnings About AI Risks

Despite the celebratory tone, some experts have expressed caution regarding the rapid AI expansion. Anthony Aguirre, executive director of the Future of Life Institute, said, “Leading AI companies are working feverishly to replace humans in every facet of life... The impact on our society could be catastrophic if there are no guardrails protecting what's human, and most important to us.”

Other Potential Candidates for Person of the Year

AI was among the leading contenders, alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Other notable figures considered included:

• Pope Leo XIV – the first American pope following Pope Francis

• Donald Trump – TIME’s 2024 Person of the Year

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

• New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani

Trump was named TIME Person of the Year in 2024 after winning his second bid for the White House, succeeding Taylor Swift, the 2023 honoree.

TIME Magazine’s Legacy and Selection Process

TIME, purchased by Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff in 2018, has been selecting the Person of the Year since 1927. The magazine chooses individuals, groups, or concepts that most influenced headlines over the past 12 months, shaping public discourse and global events.