Time Magazine has provoked a backlash after it was revealed that the publication has completely snubbed X boss Elon Musk from an artificial intelligence (AI) industry feature.
The outlet chose to omit Musk from its “100 Most Influential People in AI” list.
However, the move to snub Musk, one of the leading voices in AI technology, has prompted criticism from industry experts and social media users.
Time even included celebrities in the list such as Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson, who made the cover.
The magazine created a composite image for its 2024 cover showing the photos of 18 AI leaders, prominently featuring Johansson and topped by Nvidia boss Jensen Huang.
The second annual TIME100 AI edition, released Thursday, also highlighted leading CEOs, including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, as well as founders and influencers in the fast-growing field.
Yet Musk, one of the founders of OpenAI, was conspicuously absent from its pages.
Last summer, Musk also launched xAI and its chatbot Grok, which has gained traction against rivals like ChatGPT.
The century-old magazine is now owned by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.
Benioff’s software company has been a major investor in AI startup Anthropic, creating a $500 million AI fund to back emerging companies.
“Disclosures are included throughout the TIME100 AI list for any companies mentioned that are backed by Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Salesforce, where TIME’s owner and co-chair, is CEO,” a Time spokesperson told The Post in a statement.
Time’s head-scratching decision to snub the Tesla and SpaceX founder-led to an uproar on social media.
The snub also came shortly after Musk endorsed President Donald Trump for re-election and revealed he may play a role in his next administration.
“Every person on this top 100 list if asked would say Elon should be on this list,” one user posted on X.
Another user said the affront was proof of Time’s “bias and lack of integrity” and “their personal vendetta against” Musk.
The billionaire founded Neuralink in 2016.
The company made headlines early this year when it successfully implanted a brain chip in a paralyzed patient.
The chip allows the patient to browse the web and play Internet games with his mind.
Just this week, Musk brought Colossus – the world’s most powerful Nvidia GPU supercomputer – online.
“I thought it was cute that Elon Musk wasn’t on the cover of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in AI,” another social media user posted on X.
“I had to check for myself when I heard he didn’t make the list at all.
“My f*cking car drives itself lol.”
Social media users also questioned the inclusion on the list of Johansson alongside Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor and YouTuber Marques Brownlee.
Johansson notably scuffled with OpenAI over its alleged use of her voice to train a chatbot without her permission.
The list also included Musk rivals like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg as well as Google boss Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
On Thursday, Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs wrote:
“If the world of AI was dominated by the emergence of startup labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and their competitors in 2023, this year, as critics and champions alike have noted, we’ve seen the outsize influence of a small number of tech giants.
“This year’s list offers examples of the possibilities for AI when it moves out of the lab and into the world.”
Jacobs emphasized that artificial intelligence is a rapidly evolving field – and with those changes come new leaders.
He said 91 of the members of the 2024 list were not on last year’s list, which he called “an indication of just how quickly this field is changing.”
Its editors and reporters sought nominations from dozens of industry leaders and experts to compile the list, according to a press release.
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