The Cards Against Humanity team are known for their Black Friday stunts. In the past they have dug a hole to nowhere and sold new products every 10 minutes. They even went after Trump’s border wall once.
This year they are spending 16 hours battling a computer to see who can create the best new CAH cards. If the humans lose, it will cost them their jobs, allegedly.
This year for Black Friday, we taught a computer how to write Cards Against Humanity cards,” say the company on the newly minted Cards Against Humanity AI Challenge website.
“Now we put it to the test. Over the next 16 hours, our writers will battle this powerful card-writing algorithm to see who can write the most popular new pack of cards. If the writers win, they’ll get a $5,000 holiday bonus. If the A.I. wins, we’ll fire the writers.”
I mean they’re probably joking… right?
For Black Friday, we taught a computer how to write Cards Against Humanity cards. Now we put it to the test. Over the next 16 hours, our writers will battle this powerful card-writing algorithm to see who can write the most popular new pack of cards. https://t.co/BOZ5cuuEJk
— CardsAgainstHumanity (@CAH) November 29, 2019
You can buy either the AI pack or the human pack in real time and the amount of money made determines the winner. At the time of writing, which was roughly seven hours into the competition the human packs were ahead at $US49,885. However, the computer was nipping at their heels (and jobs) at $US48,415.
You can track how the competition is going over on the website and also upvote and downvote cards from each team.
I gotta admit, the computer has come up with some pretty on-brand stuff:
“Having a soft spot for uneducated farm boys”
“Twenty years of untreated syphilis”
“Not quite getting the gangbusters orgasm you need”
But I gotta hand it to the humans. Despite having to take taco breaks to sustain their useless flesh vessels with tacos, they’re still delivering the goods.
“Unwelcome sexual attention from grown men”
“Losing a loved one to Fox News”
“Sucking all the oil out of the planet and fucking off to mars”
Update: with 12 hours left to go, the writers retain a slight lead and are now eating tacos. pic.twitter.com/CKy9ZhZIOr
— CardsAgainstHumanity (@CAH) November 29, 2019
The entire site is worth trawling through for some laughs. Anyone familiar with CAH stunts can attest to the hilarity of the FAQs, and this year is as stellar as ever.
For example, in answer to what any of this has to do with Black Friday, the site states “This whole thing is an elaborate stunt to get attention and make money while overworking our employees. Isn’t that what Black Friday is all about?”
One questions also asks whether the AI gets tired.
“No. It’s an unfeeling automaton that never eats lunch, takes a smoke break, or joins a union.”
If you’ve got nothing else going on today you can watch the entire thing play out on the live stream right here.
There are also regular updates dropping on the Cards Against Humanity Twitter accounts.