Time Magazine Skewered for AI 'Person of the Year' Reveal
By: Zachary Leeman (Mediaite)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Time magazine put the "Architects of AI," including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg , on the cover of their annual Person of the Year issue, and the internet was quick to roast the reveal.
"2025 was the year when artificial intelligence's full potential roared into view, and when it became clear that there will be no turning back," Time announced. "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."
2025 was the year when artificial intelligence's full potential roared into view, and when it became clear that there will be no turning back.
For delivering the age of thinking machines, for wowing and worrying humanity, for transforming the present and transcending the… pic.twitter.com/mEIKRiZfLo
— TIME (@TIME) December 11, 2025
The cover images include tech moguls sitting on a beam, referencing the famous 1932 staged picture of iron workers sitting and eating lunch on a steel beam above Manhattan.
Time was quickly roasted for both the quality of the new cover images and celebrating AI, something critics argued could potentially threaten the jobs of the very people behind the list.
"Besides the terrible pick for Person of the Year, can we just address how bad the cover images are? If you're going to have 'architects,' why not have an architectural rendering of 'AI' versus scaffolding? And the lunch on a beam picture is even worse. Derivative, badly done," tech analyst James Wester wrote on X.
Besides the terrible pick for Person of the Year, can we just address how bad the cover images are? If you're going to have "architects," why not have an architectural rendering of "AI" versus scaffolding? And the lunch on a beam picture is even worse. Derivative, badly done. https://t.co/eGWpxoB6Up — James Wester (@jameswester) December 11, 2025
"Non-zero chance that we look back on this TIME 'person' of the year the same way we think about the 1938 and 1942 issues," BBC's Alex Foster wrote.
non-zero chance that we look back on this TIME 'person' of the year the same way we think about the 1938 and 1942 issues https://t.co/5eeBbPuVC1 — Alex Foster (@f0steralex) December 11, 2025
Time's 1938 "Person of the Year" was Adolf Hitler . Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was then "Person of the Year" in 1942.
That second cover is so incredibly insulting to the original and in a way that makes it even more perfect (unintentionally) https://t.co/SebkBSQZHy — Tobias van Schneider (@vanschneider) December 11, 2025
Ok but why does it look so bad tho? Was it also made with AI? https://t.co/KHeZuiy3Wa — Rehan (@rehanismynameo) December 11, 2025
Very cool to work toward the blurring of distinctions between AI and persons. What could go wrong? https://t.co/e0Mzlu5EUc — James A. Furey (@JamesAFurey) December 11, 2025
The editors were so proud of this choice…
..until they all lost their jobs to the "Person of the Year" pic.twitter.com/0HyOt4NEVA
— obj (@obj0x0) December 11, 2025
Your website intern made it transparent for the entire world yesterday.
Cool to know though. pic.twitter.com/HwRvT1MHMi — Moses (@holy_moses7) December 11, 2025
MAGA voices were also upset that late conservative activist Charlie Kirk was not given the title this year following his assassination.
AI's not even a real person…
…and you chose it over Charlie? pic.twitter.com/Aug97pyYBG
— The Conservative Alternative (@OldeWorldOrder) December 11, 2025
The real Person of the Year pic.twitter.com/xR76oiqJgP — johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) December 11, 2025
Should have been Charlie.
Big miss @TIMEhttps://t.co/d1B9y4EhPs — RachelReneeReeves (@RachelReneeRee1) December 11, 2025
Time's deep-dive into AI mentions concerns about deepfakes and outpacing human labor, but also noted the technology has been rapidly integrating into businesses during President Donald Trump's second term in office.
"Researchers have found that AIs can scheme, deceive, or blackmail," the story reads. "As the leading companies' models improve, AI systems may eventually outcompete humans—as if an advanced species were on the cusp of colonizing the earth."
Tags:Person of the YearTime Magazine Previous PostNext Post Previous PostNext Post Zachary Leeman
Zachary Leeman covered pop culture and politics at outlets such as Breitbart, LifeZette, BizPac Review, HollywoodinToto, and others. He is the author of the novel Nigh. He joined Mediaite in 2022.
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At least its not Trump.
I would have made a random victim of DHS kidnapping the person of the year.