Did Sam Altman Get Robbed? Taylor Swift Wins TIME Person Of The Year Over OpenAI Founder

TIME Magazine announced on Wednesday that Taylor Swift is the magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year, edging out other finalists such as OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Barbie, the Hollywood strikers, China President Xi Jinping, Trump prosecutors, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and King Charles III. TIME, however, named Altman the CEO of the Year for 2023. 

Robbed? On Monday, Marketwatch published an opinion article titled, “Why Sam Altman is a no-brainer for Time’s ‘Person of the Year’.” In it, the author argued ChatGPT has been the most impactful development of the past year and helped revitalize the entire tech industry. In fact, OpenAI investor Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT stock is up more than 50% this year as Wall Street recognized the potential of the new AI technology. 

The article's writer, Therese Poletti, also admitted OpenAI and Altman’s impact through their artificial intelligence developments were still in the early stages, and it would take time to see the full effects. Poletti also conceded AI and ChatGPT could have negative effects too, such as jobs becoming obsolete.

She also asserted TIME picked its Person of the Year based on impact, and not because they are a "saint." Putin was on the shortlist of finalists, after all. 

Read Also: TIME Person Of The Year 2023 Nominees: Taylor Swift, Sam Altman, Barbie And... Vladimir Putin

The Case For Tay: Swift, on the other hand, had arguably the biggest year of all time for a musical artist. TIME pointed out that world leaders and mayors competed, practically begged, Swift to bring her Eras Tour to their respective countries or cities. 

Her impact can be measured through quantitative measures, such as how much cities benefited economically from her tour or how many new fans are tuning into NFL games because of her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

But other impacts are qualitative or anecdotal; like the millions of people, young women particularly, she has inspired through her music and story. 

Read Next: Missed Taylor Swift's Eras Tour? Apple's Got Your Back — Here's What You Need To Know

Photos: Taylor Swift, Shutterstock; Sam Altman, Flickr Creative Commons