Time magazine has named a group of influential technology leaders “the Architects of AI” as its Person of the Year for 2025, highlighting artificial intelligence as the defining force of the year.
This marks one of the few times in the publication’s history that a collective rather than a single individual has received the honor. More importantly, Apple CEO Tim Cook has been completely left out of this year’s list.
According to Time’s announcement, the architects were chosen for driving what the magazine calls “the age of thinking machines,” a moment when AI moved from novel technology to a feature of daily life around the world. Editors said the choice reflects both AI’s breathtaking breakthroughs and the risks its deployment has revealed.
The cover imagery for the 2025 Person of the Year issue includes a reimagined version of the iconic 1932 “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” photograph, this time with eight major tech executives seated on a steel beam high above the ground. The leaders featured include Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, xAI’s Elon Musk, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, AMD’s Lisa Su, Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, and AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li.
Analysts say Apple’s absence from Time’s list reflects both its more measured public approach to AI and a broader debate about what constitutes leadership in the field. While companies like Nvidia, OpenAI, Meta, and Anthropic have dominated headlines with breakthrough models, acquisitions, or massive investments in AI infrastructure, Apple’s AI strategy has been quieter and more incremental.
Some investors and commentators have even openly questioned Cook’s direction on AI and broader tech strategy. Market observers have noted Apple’s stock struggles in 2025 and criticized the slow pace of certain initiatives, with some calling for new leadership that might push the company into more competitive AI territory more forcefully.
Suggestions that Cook might step down as early as 2026 have also circulated in financial media, adding to the narrative that Apple’s next chapter could look very different.
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