As many had predicted, Time The magazine once again took some liberties with its annual “Person of the Year” issue.
In addition to preventing users from reading their website with AI chatbots, the magazine anointed “architects of AI” as its most important visionaries of 2025, abandoning the definition of “person.”
The attention-grabbing announcement was met with a lot of incredulity, especially considering the enormous amounts of money being spent on building data centers, their huge carbon footprint, and other ethical dilemmas arising from the embrace of generative AI.
One online group was particularly upset by this TimeAnnouncement of. As author Parker Molloy pointed at blueskythose who Bet on who will be named “Person of the Year”“The markets were absolutely furious at the prediction – perfectly illustrating the risks of throwing money away on unregulated gambling websites.
“Please someone explain to me how this is not a trick?” a user Complained After betting on Kalashi to billionaire Elon Musk. “Person of the Year is an eccentric title…”
“This is really, really stupid,” another. user Boiled.
Other users who bet on “AI” argued that Kalshi owed them money.
“Clearly the solution should have been yes,” one user said. wrote“If you purchased AI, contact Kalshi support because ‘AI’ is literally on the cover and ‘Architects of AI’ in the title,”
Many argued that it is foolish to bet on “AI” given its purpose. TimeAnnual issue of.
“Stop complaining that the AI couldn’t win,” one user said. wrote“AI was never going to win because of technicality Time I would never describe AI as ‘Person of the Year’, but rather as ‘technology’ or something different.
This proved to be a major driver, with only $20 million worth of bets placed since the beginning of November 2024. The clear frontrunner for most of the year was Musk, who was overtaken by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang after his pro-AI rally. During a keynote speech in Washington, D.C.,
Meanwhile, “AI” trading has seen a steady rise since May.
“If AI Is Time’s Person of the Year for 2025, the Market Resolves Yes,” reads rule summary“If there is no individual of the year (and instead there are multiple variations, e,g, Entertainer of the Year, Hero of the Year), he or she is not included in the payout criteria, If multiple individuals win, all individuals listed are included in the payout criteria,”
A Similar bet on Polymarket too Most of the money was seen going towards NBA legend LeBron James and President Donald Trump. The comments section also turned into a raging war, with unhappy users accusing the site of “rug pull,
“Such a scam,” complained one Polymarket user. “If I had known there was a new option added that effectively says AI or everything else I would have chosen that.”
Perhaps users of forecasting market websites should have known better. Time The magazine has a long history of making controversial choices for its glittering annual covers. The publication has also taken plenty of liberties in the past, stretching the definition of “person” to extremes, in addition to choosing notorious leaders like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin in 1938 and 1939, respectively.
For example, in 1960, It chose “American scientists” Which is arguably an even vaguer descriptor than “architects of AI.” In 2006, it chose “You”, an infuriating and borderline meaningless selection intended to recognize people who created user-generated content on then-emerging social platforms like MySpace and YouTube.
Meanwhile, users on social media were happily watching as prediction market users were bearish.
One BlueSky user said, “I can’t believe that an unregulated gambling market let people place ridiculous amounts of money and then took all their money.” wrote,
More TimePerson of the Year: Time Magazine deploys AI “Ask Me Anything” box that covers its actual journalism and can’t be turned off
