Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2025 is not a single person.
Instead, the magazine has recognized the year's most influential figure as the architects of artificial intelligence (AI).
Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, Meta head Mark Zuckerberg, X owner Elon Musk, and AI godmother Fei-Fei Li are among those depicted on one of the magazine's two covers.
Experts say it highlights how quickly AI, and the firms behind it, are reshaping society.
This recognition comes as a boom in the technology, propelled by OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, continues at pace. Its boss Sam Altman stated in September that the chatbot is utilized by around 800 million people each week.
Big tech firms are investing billions in AI and the infrastructure supporting it to maintain a competitive edge.
There are two covers this year — one featuring a piece of art depicting the letters AI surrounded by workers and another highlighting the tech leaders themselves.
At Meta, Zuckerberg has reportedly centered the firm around this technology, including its AI chatbot embedded in popular applications. He, along with Huang, Musk, Li, and Altman, appeared on the cover along with other industry figures.
Time remarked that this year, the focus has shifted from responsible AI deployment to a rapid incorporation into various domains.
Time's editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs stated that no one had a greater impact in 2025 than the individuals who imagined, designed, and built AI.
Forrester analyst Thomas Husson noted that 2025 may mark a tipping point regarding AI's integration into daily life, with many consumers leveraging it without even realizing it.
Recognition of AI's powerful impact is not novel, as Time has previously recognized groups over individual figures, including Ebola fighters in 2014 and whistleblowers in 2002.
This unprecedented embrace of technology galvanizes a conversation about the future and ethical implications surrounding AI's adoption.
