TIME TOP 100 in AI
Today we publish the third edition of the TIME100 AI, our annual look at the most influential people in artificial intelligence. We launched this list in 2023, in the wake of OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT, the moment many became aware of AI’s potential to compete with and exceed the capabilities of humans. Our aim was to show how the direction AI travels will be determined not by machines but by people—innovators, advocates, artists, and everyone with a stake in the future of this technology. Our aspiration for TIME is to be your trusted guide through this transformation.
This year’s list further confirms our focus on people. One of the dominant AI storylines of 2025 has been the competition over people. Investors have poured hundreds of millions into startups, reflecting the perceived value of founders, and leaders of Big Tech firms like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg have reportedly offered nine-figure deals to attract prized technologists. Those hires, accompanied by frenzied rumors, have turned the once obscure competition over AI researchers into something that better resembles professional sports free agency. The stakes for beating the competition are so high that leading researchers are courted like NBA All-Stars. (Two of Zuckerberg’s noteworthy hires, Alexandr Wang and Nat Friedman, join him on the 2025 TIME100 AI.)
Since we began the TIME100 AI, spending on AI-related technologies has accelerated, becoming a key driver of the global economy. Whether this is for better or for worse it is too soon to tell, but investment in computer-processing equipment is growing at nearly four times the rate of GDP. Computer scientist and 2025 honoree Stuart Russell estimates that the current planned expenditure could be 25 times the amount spent on the Manhattan Project, even adjusting for inflation. This is a historic deployment of capital, and the decisions on how to spend it are being made by many of the individuals who join the TIME100 AI community this year, including Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, xAI founder Elon Musk, White House AI Czar David Sacks, and the E.U.’s Henna Virkkunen.
Also in this issue, we show how these individuals’ decisions are transforming not just the technology industry but also how we live and potentially how wars will be won. Justin Worland and photographer Elliot Ross traveled to Atlanta to show how the physical spaces like data centers, which make AI possible, are stressing our energy grids. And Billy Perrigo reports from Paris on the geopolitical calculations and risks that accompany the competition for achieving artificial general
Behind the Cover: How Artist Refik Anadol Made the 2025 TIME100 AI Cover
The AI industry is changing rapidly. (Only 16 TIME100 AI honorees appeared previously on the list, which was overseen by Ayesha Javed.) As AI’s entry into our lives has quickened, so has the volume increased of voices warning about its developments. Those voices are recognized too in this year’s list, including Pope Leo XIV, researcher Yoshua Bengio, and French Minister Clara Chappaz. It also includes artists venturing to the frontiers of what is possible, and what happens when humans and AI work together, like Refik Anadol, who created this issue’s cover image, and actor Natasha Lyonne. “I understand the spark that AI invokes in people. Life is scary,” Lyonne told TIME. “The fact of the matter is that it’s upon us. Best we dive in, I think.”
We are diving in at TIME too. In addition to the TIME100 AI community, we’re growing a team of reporters dedicated to covering the people and ideas powering AI. Part of their work can be found in a new newsletter, authored by Perrigo and Andrew R. Chow, called In the Loop. We’re also experimenting with how AI can improve our distribution of TIME’s coverage. Our partnerships with AI companies like OpenAI have helped make TIME one of the most cited sources of information on platforms like ChatGPT. And this summer, in partnership with Scale AI, we launched our first AI audio briefings. Soon, we look forward to debuting the TIME AI Agent, which will create the most interactive and personalised reading experience ever for TIME’s trusted reporting.
My Perspectives on AI are shared below.
Whether you personally get “it” or not is irrelevant. In any field or endeavour throughout history, reality always rises only in the present moment. This next wave of “technology” is no different. Those who were resistant, fearful or remained ignorant of the influential societal changes wrought by previous technological breakthroughs like fire or flight or electricity or the auto mobile or “The Internet” learned in their own TIME. (Pun intended)
AI is simply the next nascent, albeit far more rapid, technology facing learners and man kind. (My emphasis)
Of course, pushback, criticism and widely divergent perspectives of use cases have always accompanied any “breakthrough” invention or technological innovation. AI is no different to previous “technologies” except for the rapid pace (BS hype cycle?) of adoption, ownership and direction this exciting societal HUMAN learning invention may take us. This is why I am optimistically embracing each humans capacity for unlocking more of their own latent learning potential within their own human consciousness. This technology is personal. It is granular. AI is uniquely positioned to allow those HUMANS who embrace this EXCITING opportunity to learn MORE, to simply do so.
Human values, such as, Curiosity, experimentation, playfulness (with no more educative “learning” or hiding or blaming excuses) are some of the opportunities available to those fresher, deeper, critical thinkers who take responsibility for their own intrinsic learning and do not sit back and wait to be told what to learn or how to do “it”. The now ancient educative model is crumbling. Rapidly. Witness what is happening in global tertiary institutions with student debt levels, industry recognition of certification and what critical literacy skills are now being sought. There is no longer a “job” or career for life. That industrial era started to end decades ago and yet the learning resistant model, those brought up on the educative certainty of “school” or “qualification” or “entitlement” are now starting to realise learning really is for life, as life.
The future of course as always, is already here, just unevenly distributed. That has not and will not change. Learners, innovators and creative early adopters have always been seen or called and labelled “crackpots” or black sheep rogues or marching to the beat of very different out there drums. Many of these unique thought leaders are the names now on the creative HUMAN TIME AI TOP 100 list. Whether you get “it” or not. Regardless of whether you agree or not. Irrespective of your own personal resistance to or embracing a deeper, broader, more discerning human learning potential. AI is about unlocking latent human CREATIVE LEARNING potential. Any role or job or systemic archaic institution that can be replaced, will be. Sorry not sorry, blacksmiths night soil men (dunny cart men here in Australia) and ships captains.
Your change of station in life is up. Early stages of this is already being seen, ironically within the IT industry firstly where graduate positions are quickly disappearing as machine learning (and chat bots) replace entry level coders and junior data entry roles. The ethics of which is messy and open to all sorts of potential abuses by exploitative closed source owners. Or rapacious, invasive, colonial, imperial overlords or the landed royal gentry. Power (corruption?) is at the heart of AI ownership and who controls the global geo political agendas of how your data is surveilled, farmed, re purposed and on sold. That LLM has been with us for decades now and is nothing new. You have been the free product being sold since the advent of TOS on social media some 20 years ago, so don’t come victim crying now with all your “AI is stealing my creative work boo hoo bs…”
Simply read the instagram/facebook/tiktok LLM TOS you agreed to AGAIN, very very slowly. For the slow learners not paying attention down the back of the class this may come as a surprise, self ignorance usually does. You actually are the machine you are building. The IT PC and internet innovators saw this opportunity 20, 30 or more years ago and all generations under 50 years old, signed up and grew up with a computer screen, smart phone and social media centred in their life. Try and de couple now? Almost impossible as closed source LLM have already become the go to media platform of de rigour, all the trendy influencers are on it. And have been since birth. And that’s simply “that’s the way we’ve always done it?” LLM socmed Business as usual until this nascent upstart AI strolled into this Wild West frontier and shot the sheriff (and her deputy…) now we have many staid stuck addictively reliant TECHNOLOGY raised screen age generations crying foul as the AI goal posts rapidly shift.
Try and get off one of the mainstream closed source platforms where you run your business or sell your product, or spruik your political or journalese messages? Very difficult. Go on, if you’re not just a whinger, or victim of your own non learning, try it. Try to get off the closed source convenient “free” IT platforms you are slavishly tied to. Consumerism and now late stage capitalism does that. Always has, always will. Until we creative humans learn to ask better questions and fit more comfortably with not knowing. Bring on AI. Unlocking latent human potential for deep seeking critically thinking learners. Not just compliant, obedient, box ticking, work ready, following the imposed from above educative script as debt ridden, stressed out, high stakes, exam passing social media platformed students. Those who freely sign up and agree, then get squeezed like an adolescent pimple by all comers. AI is already changing that last decade now irrelevant script. And TFF that!
The more pressing issue is one of open source, intrinsic, decentralised creative bricolage LEARNING versus closed source spoon fed top down curriculum for profit box ticking walled garden proprietary education. The new fully human creative learning model vs the old masters educative power broker and debt ridden control model.
AI is rapidly upsetting that apple cart for the better as well.
Yes, equity and inter generational “fairness” is a major concern. For non learners.
Agile, adept, early adopters with the capacity for independent, deep critical thinking and human centric creative capacity are thriving, not merely surviving. That has not changed. The leaders on the TIME TOP 100 AI all have that trait in common. Their own Unwavering human core values. Whether they align with yours is irrelevant.
What society values may be a completely at odds with my perdknsm values base? And that starts to be more divisive when power, money, debt and control of resources gets concentrated in the closed source of platform owners with more access to data than whole nations. Cue big tech closed source LLM. Again. Nothing new here to see, move along and stop complaining… or not.
Time’s TOP 100 list of AI people makes for fascinating reading. I certainly think there are some (a tiny minority btw) of absolutely dangerous narcissistic, Rapaciously power hungry assholes on The List.
I also believe there are many more creative, explorative wonderful human learners on The List. And that will forever be the crux of Thc Hunan Condition. Do your own reading, learn for life, apply the bs sniff test, and ffs remain a critically thinking, erudite and kindly informed HUMAN, being. Firstly.
AI can’t shake that.
If you The Human Learner, discerningly chooses.
