Ankara: In its latest release, TIME magazine has announced the 2026 TIME100 AI list, spotlighting 100 individuals who are significantly shaping the trajectory of artificial intelligence on a global scale. This annual compilation, now in its fourth iteration, showcases a diverse array of influencers ranging from industry executives to creative visionaries, emphasizing the multifaceted impact of AI on both economic and social fronts.
According to Anadolu Agency, the list categorizes these influential figures into Leaders, Innovators, Shapers, and Thinkers. Within the Leaders category, notable names include OpenAI's Chief Research Officer Mark Chen, CEO Sam Altman, and President Greg Brockman, alongside SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Anthropic's co-founders Dario and Daniela Amodei. The category also features IBM's Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, Google DeepMind's Chief AI Readiness Officer Lila Ibrahim, and ByteDance's Chairman and CEO Liang Rubo. Additionally, key players in AI infrastructure such as Broadcom CEO Hock Tan, Oracle's Executive Chairman and CTO Larry Ellison, CoreWeave's co-founder and CEO Michael Intrator, and SMIC's Co-CEO Liang Mong Song are also highlighted.
The Innovators category celebrates those pioneering new AI applications and methodologies, including figures like OpenEvidence founder Daniel Nadler, Cursor CEO Michael Truell, Moonshot AI CEO Yang Zhilin, and Caltech professor Anima Anandkumar. The list also acknowledges AI's influence on creative sectors, naming actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck, along with Suno co-founder and CEO Mikey Shulman and Tarteel co-founder and CTO Mohamed Moussa as Innovators.
In the Shapers category, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), is recognized for her efforts in bridging the global digital divide and enhancing AI development participation. Actor and filmmaker Joseph Gordon-Levitt, co-founder of the Creators Coalition on AI, is also featured for his advocacy toward involving artists and the public in AI development decisions and safeguarding creator rights.
TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs commented on this year's list, describing the AI realm as increasingly 'explosive and divisive.' He noted recent developments, such as Musk's move to bring a leading AI company to public markets, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's conflicts with the Pentagon, Oracle's Larry Ellison's rapid data center expansions, and Moonshot AI's Yang Zhilin's progress in developing Chinese models that sometimes surpass US counterparts.
The list also underscores the influence of Chinese technology and AI leaders, with notable mentions including ByteDance's Liang Rubo, Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu, Moonshot AI's Yang Zhilin, Zhipu CEO Zhang Peng, AgiBot CEO Deng Taihua, and SMIC executive Liang Mong Song.