"Architects of AI" is Time's Person of the Year

AI, which is not a person and not even an accurate term to describe the software it refers to, is not Time Magazine's Person of the Year. But the actual pick, "Architects of AI," is still good for a shudder. The squishy grammar (architects are person) is not without precedent, nor is the general vibe of mediocrity and indecision.

In the past, POTY picks such as Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin reminded us that it's not an honor to be chosen. But Time's coverage comes off mostly as praise. Much of it is so fawning that it might as well have been written by an A–sorry, a generative pre-trained transformer.

Then someone puts on a Spotify playlist and the stirring chords of Aerosmith's "Dream On" fill the room. Huang puts on his trademark black leather jacket and appears to transform, donning not just the uniform, but also the body language and optimism befitting one of the foremost leaders of the artificial intelligence revolution.

The gamblers who smoke what prediction markets roll are upset:

That predictions influence decisionmakers is one reason it's so foolish for CNN to be partnering with prediction markets for news coverage. As far as Time goes, it has one thing in it's defense: it doesn't get dumber than it was in 2006. And in our defense, we worked hard for that win.