Yoshua Bengio, from Université de Montréal, Honored as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People Worldwide

TIME magazine today named artificial-intelligence pioneer Yoshua Bengio, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research at Université de Montréal, and founder and scientific director of Mila – Quebec AI institute, to its annual list showcasing the world’s 100 most influential people.

“Throughout his career, Yoshua’s research has been instrumental in shaping the world’s understanding of AI’s potential—and that same expertise has made his perspective more essential than ever,” his Canadian collague Geoffrey Hinton writes in a short profile to mark Bengio’s naming.

“I am delighted to receive this accolade today,” said Bengio.

“I see it as a great indication that my public-awareness efforts over the past year resonate, and that citizens, governments and the media increasingly understand the importance of urgently regulating the development and deployment of advanced AI systems.”

He added: “This awareness-raising work is essential because these powerful systems are already having a major impact on our lives and societies, and this trend will likely grow much faster over the next few years and decades.”

The TIME100 list recognizes the profound impact, innovation and achievements of the world’s leading individuals. Other notable figures in the 2024 ranking include Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Russian public figure Yulia Navalnaya, and American football quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

To acknowledge his naming in person, Bengio will attend the TIME100 Summit next Wednesday in New York City as well as the TIME100 Gala the following day.