In a surprising move, Time magazine has excluded tech titan Elon Musk from its annual list of the "100 Most Influential People in AI," while opting to feature actress Scarlett Johansson on the cover of this year's edition. The magazine, known for its prestigious rankings, released its second annual TIME100 AI edition on Thursday, featuring a composite image of 18 AI leaders, with Nvidia boss Jensen Huang taking center stage alongside Johansson.

This year's edition of TIME100 AI highlighted prominent CEOs such as Dario Amodei from Anthropic and Sam Altman from OpenAI, as well as founders and influencers shaping the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence. However, the notable absence of Elon Musk raised eyebrows, given his involvement in launching xAI and the success of his chatbot Grok, which has gained significant ground against competitors like ChatGPT.

Interestingly, Time magazine is now under the ownership of Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, whose company has heavily invested in both Anthropic and OpenAI through a $500 million AI fund, known as Salesforce Ventures. The magazine stated that it has included disclosures throughout the TIME100 AI list to acknowledge any companies backed by Salesforce Ventures.

Time's decision to exclude Musk sparked an outcry on social media, with many expressing their disbelief. One user posted, "Every person on this top 100 list, if asked, would say Elon should be on this list." Another user criticized Time's decision as evidence of their "bias and lack of integrity" and suggested a "personal vendetta against him."

Ironically, this week Musk unveiled Colossus, the most powerful Nvidia GPU supercomputer in the world, further highlighting his significant contributions to the field of AI. Social media users commented wittily on the situation, with one saying, "I thought it was cute that Elon Musk wasn't on the cover of Time's 100 most influential people in AI. I had to check for myself when I heard he didn't make the list at all. My f*cking car drives itself lol."

While Time's list did feature Musk's rivals like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Google's Sundar Pichai, and Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Editor in Chief Sam Jacobs highlighted the evolving nature of the AI field. Jacobs explained that 91 individuals on the 2024 list were not included in the previous year's edition, demonstrating the rapid pace of change and the emergence of new leaders in the AI landscape.

The compilation of Time's list involved nominations from industry leaders and experts, adding credibility to the selection process. However, the absence of Elon Musk, a prominent figure in the AI community, has sparked debates and raised questions about the magazine's choices. As the world of AI continues to evolve and grow, it remains to be seen how influential personalities and innovators will shape this dynamic field.