Time Magazine has chosen a collective — not an individual — as its Person of the Year for 2025, recognising the technologists driving the rapid ascent of artificial intelligence. The magazine has conferred the title on the “architects of AI”, a group of industry leaders shaping what it calls a fast-moving and uncertain new era.
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, X owner Elon Musk and AI “godmother” Fei-Fei Li feature prominently on one of two new covers, alongside OpenAI’s Sam Altman, AMD’s Lisa Su, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and Google DeepMind head Sir Demis Hassabis.
The second cover is an artwork depicting the letters “AI” under construction, while the main cover references the iconic photograph Lunch atop a Skyscraper — replacing ironworkers with today’s tech titans.
Time said its decision reflects how quickly AI has moved from cautious experimentation to full-throttle deployment. “The risk-averse are no longer in the driver’s seat,” the magazine wrote. “Humanity is now flying down the highway, all gas no brakes, toward a highly automated and highly uncertain future.”
The accolade lands amid a worldwide AI boom that began with the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. OpenAI chief Sam Altman said in September the chatbot now serves roughly 800 million weekly users. Big Tech firms are investing billions to accelerate AI development and expand the infrastructure that underpins it.
At Meta, Zuckerberg has reorganised the company around AI and embedded its chatbot across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. Musk, Huang and other executives have become central figures in the global race to build and scale AI systems.
The magazine has previously honoured groups or non-human entities, including Ebola fighters in 2014, whistleblowers in 2002, and “the computer” in 1982 — represented then by industry figures such as Steve Jobs. In 2006, the title famously went to “You”, celebrating the rise of ordinary users shaping the Internet.
Time editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs said no group had a greater impact in 2025 than the individuals who “imagined, designed and built AI”. He added: “Humanity will determine AI’s path forward, and each of us can play a role in shaping its future.”
