Prediction Markets Say Time 2025 Person of the Year Might Not Be Human

Time is close to revealing its 2025 Person of the Year, but prediction markets already have a strong favorite: artificial intelligence. On Polymarket and CFTC-regulated Kalshi, traders are betting that AI as a whole will win the title over headline-making figures like Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.

Current pricing on Kalshi suggests about a 55% chance that “AI” ends up as Person of the Year, while Polymarket odds sit around 47%. Other popular contracts include Huang, Altman, and Pope Leo XIV, but none are trading as strongly as the AI category.

A Kalshi spokesperson has noted that a non-human winner would not be new territory for Time. The magazine has previously used the cover to highlight ideas or forces rather than a single individual. In 1982, it marked a new era in technology by naming the personal computer its “Machine of the Year.” In 1988, it recognized the endangered Earth, and in 2022, it chose the “Spirit of Ukraine” to symbolize the country’s resistance.

Backers of the AI bet say 2025 feels like another historic inflection point. Three years after the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, artificial intelligence systems are now woven into daily life, from workplaces and entertainment to politics and online culture.

ChatGPT itself appears as a separate option on Kalshi’s Person of the Year market, but traders there currently give the chatbot only about a 6% chance of winning. It is not listed as a standalone choice on Polymarket, where users seem more confident that AI as an era-defining technology will claim the spotlight.