Time magazine released its annual Person of the Year on Thursday, naming the “architects of artificial intelligence” as its winner.
The magazine released two cover images for the title: one with a giant “A” and “I” being constructed, and another with various CEOs and heads of AI companies sitting on a skyscraper I-beam, reminiscent of the famous 1932 “Lunch atop a Skyscraper” photo. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, xAI founder Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and others are featured in the second photo.
“For delivering the age of thinking machines, for wowing and worrying humanity, for transforming the present and transcending the possible, the Architects of AI are TIME’s 2025 Person of the Year,” the magazine said on X.
The AI architects beat out other runners-up for the title, including Pope Leo XIV, President Donald Trump, New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Many users on social media did not share enthusiasm for the magazine’s pick. Washington Examiner contributing writer Joe Concha argued that the late Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in September, should have been Person of the Year, pointing to the massive effect his life and death have had on the nation.
As AI and its impact continue to grow, the Pentagon partnered with Google on an AI initiative to create a generative “‘AI-first’ workforce.” The Department of War tapped Google’s Gemini for Government as the first of several incoming platforms on its new GenAI.mil generative AI model.
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The Washington Examiner is also partnering with Google on a new AI pilot program, testing innovative ways to deliver our journalism and help shape the future of news. We are proud to join Google’s new AI pilot program for news publishers. It’s a meaningful step toward leveraging technology to strengthen quality reporting by exploring how AI can drive deeper engagement with our reporting, testing article overviews and audio briefings in Google News, ensuring every feature includes clear attribution and direct links to our journalism.
Trump is also moving forward with a “one rule” executive order on AI, despite some resistance within the Republican Party on the effects it could have.