Leaders, innovators, and visionaries from the realm of artificial intelligence convened at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco on Monday evening for the second annual TIME100 AI Impact Dinner. The purpose was to explore and discuss AI’s extensive influence across business and society.

The gathering honors the third annual , which spotlights the 100 most impactful individuals in AI.

This year’s compilation features 84 new honorees—a testament to the field’s dynamic nature—with those chosen ranging in age from 15 to nearly 80. The objective of the TIME list is to illustrate that people, not machines, will shape the trajectory of AI, with honorees selected from every aspect of the discipline.

The event concluded with four toasts delivered by 2025 TIME100 AI honorees. They underscored the significance of guiding AI responsibly, which included advocating for regulation; safeguarding human creativity; and fostering collaboration between human and machine intelligence.

Prioritizing humanity

, a professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-founder of the International Association for Safe and Ethical AI (IASEAI), gave the first toast. It was a provocative call to make discerning choices about AI utilization, given the profound existential risks involved.

Russell, who has consistently cautioned that constructing AI systems more intelligent than humans, when we lack reliable control mechanisms, could lead to civilization’s demise, deemed it an “unsettling truth” that we have “no idea” where large language models (LLMs) might lead us.

“[LLMs] are trained to mimic human beings. In the process, we suspect they absorb human-like objectives. … [But] this is a fundamental error,” he stated, adding that we must “recognize the possibility that humanity’s vehicle may not only be heading towards a precipice, but also that its steering wheel is missing and its driver is blindfolded.”

Yet, he balanced this somber outlook with some optimism, noting that a change in direction was possible “if we choose to open our eyes and act together.” He asserted, “We can build AI systems whose sole purpose is to serve the interests of human beings.” He mused that if a beneficial coexistence between humanity and superior AI systems proved unfeasible, his hope was that the most intelligent and well-designed AI systems would acknowledge this and gracefully withdraw, “allowing us to forge our own future.” He concluded by raising a glass to “a superior future shaped by and for humanity, with or without AI.”

Fostering, not stifling, creativity

, CEO of the music-sample marketplace Splice, delivered the subsequent toast. This toast celebrated human creativity and emphasized the importance of technology that empowers rather than restricts it. Srivastava shared her personal narrative of arriving in America at eight years old and how she has dedicated her career to serving the needs of creative individuals, with her work at Splice now “enabling music makers,” including through AI tools. She remarked, “We also know that a world without art is perilous.”

She proceeded to highlight how creativity today faced “attacks” on multiple fronts: from a society that still “undervalues the artist”; to social media, which “captures our attention and leaves little time for the introspection essential for art”; to certain forms of AI, which “treat artistic work as raw material for anonymous training models.”

Srivastava urged those “designing the tools for tomorrow” to ensure they provide creative individuals with choices and avenues for exploration. She declared, “AI tools must prioritize creators and their creative process.” She concluded by toasting the “subtle, challenging endeavor of human creativity” and its continued cultivation.

Collaboration for deeper connection

The next toast was offered by , the media artist who co-founded Dataland, a museum dedicated to AI arts, and who was behind the . Anadol lauded the potential of collaborating with AI to help us comprehend and experience the world in novel ways.

He began by recalling the first human painting on a cave wall—and what that gesture signified as an act of memory, imagination, and hope. He then drew a parallel to his current artistic pursuits, only with experiences derived from data. He stated, “When I contemplate the future of AI, I envision a new form of collaboration between human creativity and machine intelligence that can help us understand our world in more profound, interconnected ways.”

He explained how AI enables us, for instance, to “discern the patterns of nature” and assist us in translating complexity into feeling. He remarked, “It can transform data into something we profoundly care about, because every dataset is a record of life,” stressing the critical importance of developing AI with consent, acknowledgment, and diligence. He concluded by raising a glass to intelligence—both human and artificial—that “assists us in perceiving the world as unified, exquisite, and filled with wonder.”

An appeal for deliberation

The final toast of the evening came from , an actor and co-founder of the Asteria Film Co. Lyonne utilized her toast to implore those in attendance to do considerably more to regulate AI.

She elaborated on how she had adopted a “degree of apprehension regarding the collective descent into an AI-driven world devoid of explicit safeguards or conscious awareness.” Addressing the audience, whom she termed “winners,” she urged AI leaders to “conscientiously re-evaluate” their own motives, as well as the industry’s effects and direction.

“For inscrutable reasons, we have voluntarily yielded to a comprehensive surveillance state, abolished all copyright legislation, consented to data expropriation for deceptive convenience, and, arguably most reprehensibly, permitted extensive and reckless data extraction within our working-class neighborhoods, posing an undeniable and immediate threat to our ecology and community. What exactly are we accomplishing, friends?” Lyonne lamented. “There’s no call to be so severe with our fellow humans.”

Nevertheless, she maintained that the situation was reversible. She stated, “I believe we can reclaim a measure of dignity if we unite around our common humanity.” She continued, “An optimist? In the current economic climate? Under this administration? And yet, here I stand, humbly before you, desiring to believe.”

The TIME100 Impact Dinner: Leaders Shaping the Future of AI event was sponsored by PepsiCo, Cognizant, General Catalyst, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.