Hold onto your hats, because Jimmy Kimmel just unleashed a hilarious and scathing critique of Time magazine’s 2025 Person of the Year cover—and it’s a doozy. But here’s where it gets controversial: the cover features the so-called 'Architects of AI,' a lineup of tech CEOs including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, and five others, whom Kimmel cheekily dubbed 'the eight dorks of the apocalypse.' And this is the part most people miss—Kimmel didn’t just stop at mocking the individuals; he tore into the cover’s design, quipping that it looked like 'Photoshop from 2007.' Ouch.
Kimmel kicked off his Thursday episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! with a dramatic reveal of the cover, met with boos from his audience. He sarcastically noted the irony of 'the people who replaced people' being crowned Person of the Year, a jab at the widespread concern that AI could displace human jobs. Bold statement alert: Kimmel even questioned whether these 'architects' truly understand the technology they’re building, asking, 'Is it customary for an architect to have no idea how a building they’ve designed works or whether it will one day rise up to try to kill them?' Talk about a thought-provoking zinger.
Time magazine defended the cover, created by digital painter Jason Seiler, as an homage to the iconic 1932 photograph of construction workers on a steel beam high above New York City. But Kimmel wasn’t having it. He doubled down on his critique, snarking, 'Ironically, with as much as you can do with AI graphically, it looks like Photoshop from 2007.'
AI’s rapid rise has undeniably reshaped industries and sparked debates about its future impact. Time itself acknowledged this, writing that humanity is 'flying down the highway, all gas no brakes, toward a highly automated and highly uncertain future.' But Kimmel’s takedown raises a bigger question: Are we celebrating the right pioneers, or are we blindly applauding a technology that could upend our world?
Controversy hook: Is Kimmel’s critique fair, or is he missing the bigger picture? Do these tech leaders deserve the title of 'Person of the Year,' or are they simply the faces of a movement that could have unintended consequences? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments—agree or disagree, this conversation is just getting started.
