🎰 Users Lost $6M Betting That "AI" Would Be Time's "Person of the Year"

Time Magazine named the "Architects of AI" as "Person of the Year"—a group of industry leaders including Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, and Elon Musk. As the editors noted, "the debate about how to wield AI responsibly gave way to a sprint to deploy it as fast as possible."

The total betting volume on Time's decision across prediction markets reached $74M this year—and the result sparked outrage.

On Polymarket, "AI" itself was considered the favorite, but in the end, $6M in bets were wiped out. Trader chats are full of indignation; many are calling it a scam, believing the nomination was interpreted too literally. The platform explains that despite the massive AI letters on the cover, the award went to people, not the technology.

"Accordingly, a Time cover which lists 'Architects of AI' as the person of the year will not qualify for 'AI'," was Polymarket's verdict.

😜 The biggest scandal caused a split between the exchanges. The American platform Kalshi paid out wins to those who bet on specific names included among the "Architects." Polymarket, however, ruled such bets as losses.