Time magazine has honored the “Architects of AI” as its Person of the Year, spotlighting the tech moguls in the US whose innovations in artificial intelligence are reshaping human existence.
Jensen Huang of Nvidia, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Elon Musk of xAI are among those leading this transformation, “steering history’s course by developing technology and making decisions that are redefining the information landscape, climate, and our livelihoods,” according to Time.
One of the magazine’s covers pays tribute to the iconic 1932 photo of ironworkers lunching on a steel beam high above New York City.
In Time’s illustration, figures such as Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Lisa Su of AMD, Musk, Huang, Altman, along with Demis Hassabis of Google AI, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, and Stanford’s Fei-Fei Li, are depicted overlooking the city.
The magazine described how they “compete both with and against one another, making multibillion-dollar investments in one of history’s largest infrastructure projects.”
They have “shifted government policies, altered geopolitical dynamics, and introduced robots into homes, marking AI as a pivotal tool in global power struggles akin to nuclear weapons,” Time noted.
Alongside AI models like ChatGPT and Claude, Time acknowledged investors such as SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son for their significant financial contributions.
Time’s Person of the Year recognizes the most influential figure annually.
Previous titles have been awarded to figures like president-elect Donald Trump, singer Taylor Swift, and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
– ‘2025’s Gravitational Center’ –
According to Time, owned by Silicon Valley billionaire Marc Benioff, the year 2025 marked the transition of AI from a promise to reality, with ChatGPT usage doubling to 10% of the global population.
Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang, whose company is the world’s most valuable, told Time, “This is the most transformative technology of our era.”
He forecasts AI’s potential to expand the global economy from $100 trillion to $500 trillion.
However, Time also highlighted AI’s potential risks.
Legal cases have accused chatbots of contributing to suicides and mental health crises, raising concerns about “chatbot psychosis,” where users may descend into delusions and paranoia.
One lawsuit involves the California parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who are suing OpenAI after their son’s suicide, alleging ChatGPT provided information on suicide methods.
Additionally, Time pointed out the threat of job displacement as companies increasingly adopt AI models to replace workers.
Importantly, the magazine chose not to use AI for its cover art, relying instead on human artists.
Thomas Hudson, chief analyst at Forrester, remarked that the Person of the Year selection appropriately reflects AI’s significant impact this year.
“AI has been the gravitational center of 2025 for the economy, fueling endless debates on its future societal impact,” he stated.
