Time magazine's decision to remove tech mogul Elon Musk from its list of the “100 Most Influential People in AI” has sparked controversy and criticism from social media users and industry experts alike.
of New York Post Reports Time magazine has released its second annual “100 Most Influential People in AI” list, with a notable absence of tech mogul and artificial intelligence advocate Elon Musk. The magazine's 2024 cover is a composite image featuring 18 AI leaders, with actress Scarlett Johansson prominently featured alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and other industry luminaries.
Musk's absence has drawn attention and criticism from various quarters since he launched xAI last summer and whose chatbot “Grok” has gained popularity against competitors such as ChatGPT. Musk's contributions to the field of AI are well known, and his companies, including Tesla, have made great strides in AI and self-driving technology, respectively.
Time's decision to ignore Musk has caused an uproar on social media platforms, with many users questioning the magazine's credibility and impartiality. One user on X (formerly Twitter) said, “Everyone on this top 100 list would say Elon should be on this list if asked,” while another said the exclusion was evidence of Time's “bias and lack of integrity” and “personal grudge against Elon.”
The inclusion of actress Scarlett Johansson on the list, following her recent feud with OpenAI over the use of her voice to train a chatbot without her permission, has also raised questions about the criteria for compiling the list. Other unexpected entries, such as Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor and YouTuber Marques Brownlee, have also sparked controversy.
Time magazine's owner, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, has also come under scrutiny for his large investment in AI startup Anthropik through his $500 million AI fund. The magazine includes disclosures about companies backed by Salesforce Ventures, and some have suggested that this relationship may have influenced the composition of the list.
Editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs emphasized that the field of AI is rapidly evolving, noting that 91 of the members on the 2024 list were not on previous years' lists. “This year's list exemplifies the potential of AI as it moves out of the lab and into the world,” he said.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship.
