Latest results

  1. 30 OctAltman17The Public
  2. 29 OctMusk9The Public
  3. 10 OctMusk3The Public
  4. 4 OctAltman16The Public
  5. 3 OctMusk8The Public
  6. 23 SeptHuang13The Public
  7. 18 SeptHuang6The Public
  8. 13 SeptAmodei8The Public
  9. 26 AugAltman3The Public
  10. 15 AugAmodei9The Public
  11. 14 AugAltman10The Public
  12. 10 AugZuckerberg9The Public
  13. 31 JulAltman9The Public
  14. 26 JulNadella6The Public
  15. 25 JulAltman5The Public
  16. Jul 2026Musk11The Public
  17. 22 JunNadella8The Public
  18. 16 JunHuang7The Public
  19. 2 JunNadella6The Public
  20. 1 JunHuang9The Public
  21. 22 MayPichai6The Public
  22. 30 AprMusk10The Public
  23. 30 AprZuckerberg13The Public
  24. 22 AprPichai6The Public
  25. 20 AprHuang8The Public
  26. 19 MarHuang10The Public
  27. 17 MarAltman11The Public
  28. 17 MarHuang14The Public
  29. 12 MarMusk2The Public
  30. 11 MarAltman11The Public
  31. 4 MarHuang10The Public
  32. 20 FebAltman9The Public
  33. 13 FebSuleyman13The Public
  34. 12 FebAmodei2The Public
  35. 4 FebAltman10The Public
  36. 26 JanAmodei14The Public
  37. 20 JanAmodei9The Public
  38. 20 JanMusk11The Public
  39. 20 JanNadella7The Public
  40. 14 JanMusk10The Public
  41. 11 JanHuang6The Public
  42. 9 JanMusk12The Public
  43. 29 DecNadella13The Public
  44. 9 DecAltman7The Public
  45. 4 DecMusk10The Public
  46. 20 NovHuang8The Public
  47. 20 NovMusk5The Public
  48. 19 NovMusk11The Public
  49. 19 NovSuleyman11The Public
  50. 18 NovPichai10The Public
  51. 16 NovAmodei3The Public
  52. 6 NovMusk11The Public
  53. 2 NovAltman7The Public
  54. 2 NovNadella4The Public
  55. 29 OctMusk11The Public
  56. 22 OctMusk13The Public
  57. 18 OctMusk7The Public
  58. 15 OctAltman6The Public
  59. 12 OctAltman13The Public
  60. 4 OctAltman8The Public
  61. 19 AugSuleyman10The Public
  62. 5 AugHassabis6The Public
  63. 30 JulZuckerberg11The Public
  64. 30 JulZuckerberg12The Public
  65. 24 JulNadella12The Public
  66. 23 JulAltman15The Public
  67. 20 JulAmodei8The Public
  68. 14 JulZuckerberg7The Public
  69. 9 JulMusk9The Public
  70. 9 JulMusk10The Public
  71. 21 JunMusk15The Public
  72. 12 JunAltman10The Public
  73. 10 JunAltman5The Public
  74. 5 JunPichai9The Public
  75. 28 MayAmodei15The Public
  76. 28 MayPichai11The Public
  77. 22 MayAmodei6The Public
  78. 29 AprZuckerberg15The Public
  79. 21 AprAltman4The Public
  80. 20 AprHassabis3The Public
  81. 4 AprSuleyman7The Public
  82. 27 MarAltman6The Public
  83. 10 MarAmodei8The Public
  84. 4 FebHassabis9The Public
  85. 23 JanAmodei5The Public
  86. 14 JanZuckerberg10The Public
  87. 13 JanZuckerberg10The Public
  88. 7 JanHuang3The Public
  89. 6 JanHuang8The Public
  90. 30 OctZuckerberg9The Public
  91. 29 OctPichai5The Public
  92. 11 OctAmodei6The Public
  93. 10 OctMusk8The Public
  94. 3 OctSuleyman8The Public
  95. 25 SeptZuckerberg13The Public
  96. 23 SeptAltman6The Public
  97. 13 SeptHuang7The Public
  98. 23 JulMusk7The Public
  99. 25 JunSuleyman13The Public
  100. 10 JunMusk7The Public
  101. 20 MayNadella15The Public
  102. 20 MayPichai13The Public
  103. 13 MayAltman13The Public
  104. 13 MayAltman11The Public
  105. May 2024Altman6The Public
  106. Apr 2024Suleyman6The Public
  107. 10 MarHuang6The Public
  108. 5 MarAltman11The Public
  109. Mar 2024Musk11The Public
  110. 12 FebHuang8The Public
  111. 18 JanZuckerberg6The Public
  112. 17 JanPichai6The Public
  113. 17 JanSuleyman8The Public
  114. 2 NovMusk12The Public
  115. 25 OctAltman7The Public
  116. 25 SeptAltman12The Public
  117. 24 MayAltman11The Public
  118. 16 MayAltman9The Public
  119. 12 MayPichai8The Public
  120. 16 AprPichai9The Public
  121. 14 MarZuckerberg11The Public
  122. 7 FebNadella4The Public
  123. 20 JanPichai9The Public

Every result, newest first. The left and right arrow keys move from one to the next.

The Backlash League Let Them Eat Tokens
Live All-time

How the league is scored

Laws of the game

Law 1

Scoring

Every statement is a match: the contender against The Public. It is judged on 5 counts, each scored 0 to 5. Its pitchforks are the sum, 25 at most, and they are the score. The table ranks contenders on their total, so every statement counts. The full table's Avg column gives the average per match. The reasons are printed beside every score in the match report; the referee is biased, and says so.

  1. What you'll loseLOSSDoes it tell people what they will have to do without: their job, their RAM, their privacy, their say?
    0
    Nobody is asked to give anything up.
    1
    A small or far-off loss, or one he says won't happen.
    3
    A real loss to many: a craft, a feed, a share of the web's traffic.
    5
    Taken outright, at scale: thousands of jobs, a whole trade, everything on your screen.
  2. CondescensionCONDDoes it talk down to the people it is about?
    0
    Speaks to them as equals, or with some humility.
    1
    A hint of looking down, in otherwise plain words.
    3
    Their worries are brushed aside, or they are told what is good for them.
    5
    Tells them their work, their view or they themselves don't count.
  3. Tone-deafnessTONEDoes it miss how it sounds to someone without a billion dollars?
    0
    Reads the room: nobody without a billion dollars would wince.
    1
    One line that grates, in an otherwise reasonable moment.
    3
    Said to the people it costs, in the wrong room or at the wrong moment, as if it were good news.
    5
    Hardship sold as an opportunity, at the worst possible moment, by the man who can afford it.
  4. DoomDOOMDoes it predict catastrophe, often while selling the cause of it?
    0
    No catastrophe forecast; optimism, however grand, scores nothing here.
    1
    A mild or narrow worry, hedged or in passing.
    3
    Upheaval for society at large, forecast as coming.
    5
    The end of humanity, or of work as we know it, said out loud.
  5. HypocrisyHYPODoes it contradict what the speaker or his company says or does elsewhere?
    0
    No contradiction on record; selling the thing he talks about is not one.
    1
    A small or arguable clash with something on record, named in the reason.
    3
    Clearly at odds with something he or his company said or did, named in the reason.
    5
    The opposite of what he said, or the very thing he ruled out.

Law 2

The table

P
Played: the statements on the record.
Pts
Points: every pitchfork his statements raised. The table is ordered by them.
LOSSCONDTONEDOOMHYPO
His pitchforks on each count.
Form
His last 5 statements, latest on the right. The fill is the crowd's reaction, from critical commentary to outrage.
=4
Equal pitchforks, equal position. There is no goal difference in disgrace.
Zones
Marie Antoinette of the Year is the top of the table; The Control Group is the foot.

Law 3

Seasons

A season runs from 1 August to 31 July, as a football season does, and is named by its two years: 25/26. The first, 22/23, opened with the record itself on 30 November 2022, the day ChatGPT launched, and so ran short. Each season crowns its own Marie Antoinette of the Year, finds its own The Control Group and bakes its own The Cake; the all-time table adds every season together.

Law 4

Eligibility

To enter the record a statement must be the contender's own words, said in public or leaked and reported, about technology, work or the people who use it, and it must have met with documented disapproval. One statement per occasion. Each is confirmed word for word against a published source and carries at least two.

Law 5

Honours

  • Marie Antoinette of the Yearfor raising the most pitchforks of all
  • The Cakefor the single statement that raised the most pitchforks
  • The Brioche PrizeWhat you'll losefor telling the public what it will have to do without
  • The Powdered WigCondescensionfor looking down on the public from the greatest height
  • The Hall of MirrorsTone-deafnessfor seeing nothing but his own reflection
  • Après Moi, le DélugeDoomfor forecasting the flood and selling tickets to it
  • The Petit HameauHypocrisynamed after the toy village where Marie Antoinette played at peasant life
  • The Control Groupfor raising the fewest pitchforks of all

Credits

Photo credits

The contenders' photos are free-licensed, from Wikimedia Commons, shown as taken and only cropped.

Match report
Report a foul

Spotted a foul we missed?

A contender said something the league should know about? Send us where it was said; the referee does the rest.

Every quote is checked word for word against its source before anything goes up. We keep only what you type here: no name, no address.