AI Becomes Polymarket’s Leading Favorite for Time’s 2025 “Person of the Year”

The American magazine Time traditionally names its “Person of the Year” at the end of each year — the individual who has had the greatest influence on global affairs. But in 2025, the title may go not to a person, but to a technology. According to prediction-market data from Polymarket, artificial intelligence is currently the front-runner.

At the time of writing, AI has a 38% chance of being named “Person of the Year,” indicating that Polymarket users wagering real money view this outcome as the most likely.

Behind the technology are human contenders — many of them tied to major developments in AI or global politics:

• Jensen Huang (17%) — CEO and co-founder of Nvidia, whose processors underpin the modern AI boom.
• Pope Leo XIV (12%) — Robert Francis Prevost, elected in May 2025 and the first U.S.-born pontiff in history.
• Sam Altman (9%) — head of OpenAI, one of the most influential players in the AI industry.
• Donald Trump (7%) — the sitting U.S. president, who previously received the title in 2024.

Altogether, Polymarket users have wagered more than $5 million on this market — one of the largest volumes among the platform’s political and media-related predictions.

For context, Time has selected its “Person of the Year” since 1927. The title is awarded to the figure judged by the editorial board to have had the most significant impact — positive or negative — on world events over the past year. There are no strict criteria; the decision is made internally after discussion and editorial voting.