Excel Balkanizer
Feb 25, 2026 · live
A tiny art project where a spreadsheet goes in… and three fractured, remix‑collapsed spreadsheets come out.
No commentary. No coaching. No “here’s what I did.”
Just files. Like a bureaucratic magic trick done by someone who hates you a little.
What it does
You upload a spreadsheet (.xlsx, .csv, and other tabular formats if the platform can parse them).
Excel Balkanizer outputs exactly 3 downloadable spreadsheets, each a different chaos remix of the original:
- rows sampled, dropped, duplicated, re-ordered
- columns scrambled, removed, renamed
- sheet names turned into weird little artefacts
- structure sometimes preserved, sometimes “collapsed”
- at least one output usually looks like it survived a small fire
The goal is not “useful.”
The goal is visibly different entropy every time.
The core design choice (and why it matters)
One option would be to have the GPT reuse a prepared, pre-approved Python script forever.
That’s too stable.
Instead, the idea here is: the GPT writes a fresh remix function for every user run.
Meaning:
- the chaos is harder to predict
- outputs won’t converge into the same “style”
- the tool stays slightly alive (and slightly unreliable) across sessions
This is intentionally anti-productivity.
The original prompt (included as used)
I have a little art project - I want to create an GPT that let's users upload a spreadsheet - which it separates into 3 new downloadable sheets containing random lines and rows from the original - the more chaotic the outcome, the better. It shouldn't do any talking at all. Can you help me with the master prompt and guide me through the setup?Why it exists
Because spreadsheets are where meaning goes to die.
And because “AI will help you structure your work” is the dominant narrative…
so naturally the correct response is to build the inverse:
a tool that takes structure and politely dismantles it.
How it’s implemented (high level)
- Built as a Custom GPT with Code Interpreter / Data Analysis enabled (so it can read uploads and generate downloadable files).
- The instructions force:
- silence (no greetings, no explanations)
- exactly 3 outputs
- high variation between the three files
There’s a practical limit: the platform UI sometimes adds tiny bits of chrome around file outputs, but the prompt is designed to keep visible text to near-zero.
“Aesthetic modes” (optional, but very on-brand)
The chaos is easier to enjoy when it has personalities:
- Glitch: aggressive reorder, truncation, weird headers
- Echo: duplication, repetition, loops of the same content
- Collapse: fragmentation, dropped structure, minimal surviving logic
Random suffering is better when branded.
Try it
Open the GPT here: