TIME magazine is reporting that its 2026 TIME100 AI list highlights the most influential leaders in artificial intelligence, a field described as both explosive and divisive. Editor in Chief Sam Jacobs said the technology has evolved from a curiosity to a constant in daily life and a primary source of knowledge.
The magazine noted that the past year saw executives like xAI's Elon Musk taking AI firms public, while Anthropic's Dario Amodei clashed with the Pentagon over AI's use in warfare. Oracle's Larry Ellison is reportedly rushing to build data centers, and researchers such as Moonshot AI's Yang Zhilin are developing models that sometimes outperform U.S. competitors.
TIME also reported on a growing coalition of politicians and advocates, including Senator Bernie Sanders, labor leader Liz Shuler, and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who are raising concerns about the implications of these changes. Sanders told TIME, "The bottom line is, I think we have to stop the development of superintelligence."
Additionally, TIME provided an unprecedented look inside OpenAI, the company whose 2022 release of ChatGPT sparked global fascination with AI. The magazine said it conducted dozens of interviews with company executives to understand how they plan to regain momentum after a period where the AI research company seemed to lose it.
In other news, TIME highlighted the new live-action and animated film "Coyote vs. Acme" as a late-summer delight that nearly went unreleased. It also featured an article on the health benefits of hanging from a bar for 30 seconds and a photographic retrospective on the life of country music icon Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at age 80. The magazine also shared tips from sustainability experts on how to reduce home water use.