Hacked Crosswalk Buttons Feature Simulated Voices of Musk and Zuckerberg

Crosswalk Buttons in California Cities Hacked with AI-Generated Voices

In a bizarre twist over the weekend, crosswalk buttons in at least three California cities were tampered with, featuring what seem to be AI-generated voices of tech moguls Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Videos circulating online captured these voices, with Musk's voice pleading for friendship and Zuckerberg's boasting about "undermining democracy" and "cooking our grandparents' brains with AI slop."

A spokesperson from Palo Alto told Palo Alto Online that city workers identified 12 affected downtown intersections. As a precaution, they've turned off the voice features on these crosswalks while they work on fixing the issue. Despite the hack, the signals are functioning normally otherwise. The tampering reportedly occurred on Friday.

Similar incidents have been reported in Redwood City, where a deputy city manager informed The San Francisco Chronicle that the city is actively looking into the matter and working on a solution. Menlo Park's crosswalk buttons are also said to be impacted.

These voice features are crucial for visually impaired individuals, providing audio cues to "wait" and signaling when it's safe to cross. While it's unclear how much the fake voices disrupt this function, videos suggest they play alongside the standard safety messages.

Videos Featuring Elon Musk's Simulated Voice

Here are some clips with the simulated voice of Elon Musk, along with my transcriptions:

• "Hi, this is Elon Musk, and I’d like to personally welcome you to Palo Alto. You know, people keep saying, ‘cancer is bad,’ but have you ever tried being a cancer? It’s fucking awesome."

• "Hi, this is Elon Musk. Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering. You know, they say money can’t buy happiness, and yeah, okay, I guess that’s true. God knows I’ve tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck, and that’s pretty sick, right? Right? Fuck, I’m so alone."

• "Hi, I’m Elon. Can we be friends? Will you be my friend? I’ll give you a Cybertruck, I promise. Okay, look, you don’t know the level of depravity I would stoop to just for a crumb of approval."

One video even included a cameo from a voice mimicking former President Donald Trump, poking fun at Musk's association with him:

• "Not Musk: You know, it’s funny, I used to think he was just this dumb sack of shit. But once you get to know him, he’s actually pretty sweet and tender and loving."

• "Not Trump: Sweetie, come back to bed."

Video Featuring Mark Zuckerberg's Simulated Voice

A video from Palo Alto Online showcased a fake Zuckerberg voice saying:

• "Hey, it’s Zuck here. I just want to tell you how very proud I am of everything we’ve been building together. From undermining democracy to cooking our grandparents’ brains with AI slop, to — to making the world less safe for trans people. Nobody does it better than us, and, uh, and I think that’s pretty neat. Zuck out!"

Other videos with a simulated Zuckerberg voice contained the same message:

• "Hi, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me ‘the Zuck.’ You know, it’s normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every, every facet of your conscious experience. And I just want to assure you, you don’t need to worry, because there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. Anyway, see ya."

These incidents highlight the potential vulnerabilities in public infrastructure and the creative, yet concerning, ways technology can be misused.