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Anonymous hackers in Silicon Valley reprogrammed crosswalk signals in various locations with the voices of tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
Video circulated online showed the tongue-in-cheek, and apparently AI-generated prank messages being played at various locations after pedestrians pushed the buttons to cross the road.
“Hi, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me the Zuck,” one crosswalk says.
The voice then adds: “You know, it’s normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated, as we forcefully insert AI into 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.”
Members of the public reported the hacking of crosswalks at locations in Redwood City, Menlo Park and Palo Alto, in the Bay Area.
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The AI-generated Musk can be heard asking if people will be his friend and promising to give them one of his Tesla Cybertrucks in return.
“This is Elon Musk. Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla Engineering,” the voice says.
“They say money can’t buy happiness. I guess that’s true. God knows, I’ve tried, but it can buy a cyber truck, and that’s pretty sick, right? F*** I’m so loaded.”
In another video, the AI-generated Musk voice says: “You don’t know the level of depravity I would stoop to just for a crumb of approval… I mean, let’s be real, it’s not like I had any moral convictions to begin with.”
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City officials were quick to act, with all sound being shut off at the affected crosswalks by Saturday morning in Palo Alto.
Spokesperson Meghan Horrigan-Taylor told local outlet Palo Alto Online that it had been determined that 12 downtown intersections had been impacted and subsequently had the voice feature disabled.
“Other traffic signals in the City were checked and the impact is isolated,” Horrigan-Taylor said. “Signal operations are otherwise unaffected, and motorists are reminded to always exercise caution around pedestrians.”
It is unclear what the motive behind the prank was.
