The risque party game Cards Against Humanity is famous for its holiday stunts. In 2016, the company dug a hole to nowhere, in 2017 it bought up land to try to stop the US-Mexico border wall, and in 2018, it sold everything from cars to diamonds at huge discounts.
This year, the stunt hits a little close to home for the employees who write the Cards Against Humanity game cards. Beginning on Black Friday morning, the writers are competing against a computer to see who can write a more popular card pack.
“This year for Black Friday, we taught a computer how to write Cards Against Humanity cards,” the company announced. “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.”
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
This might make more sense if you’re familiar with Cards Against Humanity’s rules. One player draws a fill-in-the-blank card, and the players all pick a card from their hands with a weird/goofy/dirty word or phrase, and the first player picks the best fit. So the jumbled phrases that sometimes come from an AI (“illegal dentistry”) kind of work when inserted into a CAH deck. (They also work in Taylor Swift songs.)
Four hours into the competition, the writers held a slight lead. One card written by the computer reads, “Kim Kardashian, but with spider legs,” and one from the humans reads, “Being terrified of a single bee.”
You can track the competition on the company’s site, where anyone can upvote and downvote the new cards coming from both the humans and the AI. And if you’re wondering how the AI works, scroll down in the FAQ to unroll a full explanation.
The game company is posting regular updates on social media. In an updated posted around 12:15 p.m. PT, things were looking good for the humans. “With 12 hours left to go, the writers retain a slight lead and are now eating tacos,” the company said in a tweet.
But as a tweet to the company points out, computers might have the advantage when it comes to food breaks. “The machine doesn’t waste time eating tacos!!!!” one Twitter user said.
The machine doesn’t waste time eating tacos!!!!
— PARADIGM/s h i f t (@PRDGMshift) November 29, 2019
In typical Cards Against Humanity fashion, the company has written a pretty hilarious FAQ explaining the questions you might have about the stunt. There’s even an Andrew Yang joke, if you scroll all the way down.
“What does this have to do with Black Friday?” one question asks. And the answer? “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?”
Another asks, “Are you really going to fire the writers if they lose today?” And the answer? “No, we’re not monsters! We’ll wait until after the holidays.”
Both packs can be ordered for $5 each, whether you’re supporting humanity by buying the writers’ pack, or preparing to welcome our new AI overlords by buying the one created by the computer.