Silicon Valley Crosswalks Hacked with AI-Generated Voices of Tech Billionaires

Silicon Valley crosswalk buttons hacked to imitate Musk, Zuckerberg voices | TechCrunch

Audio-enabled traffic control crosswalk buttons across Silicon Valley were hacked over the weekend to include audio snippets imitating the voices of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Videos taken by locals in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, and Redwood City in California show the crosswalk buttons were playing AI-generated speech designed to sound like the two billionaires. "It's normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience," said one crosswalk button, which was hacked to sound like Zuckerberg. "I just want to assure you, you don't need to worry because there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it." One crosswalk button that was hacked to sound like Musk said: "I guess they say money can't buy happiness...I guess that's true. God knows I've tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck and that's pretty sick, right?" "F -- k, I'm so alone," the Musk voice adds. It's not clear for what reason the sidewalk buttons were hacked, or by whom, but signs point to possible hacktivism. Palo Alto Online, one of the first outlets to report the hack, cited a Redwood City official as saying that the city was "actively working to investigate and resolve the issue as quickly as possible." According to the outlet, the tamperings may have happened Friday. Audio-enabled crosswalk buttons are widely used across the United States to allow those with visual impairments or accessibility needs to hear custom audio messages that play for pedestrians to know when it is safe to cross a street. In a video from 2024, physical penetration specialist and security researcher Deviant Ollam explains how audio-enabled crosswalk buttons can be manipulated often by way of default-set passwords that have not been changed. Polara, the company that makes the audio-enabled crosswalk buttons, did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by TechCrunch on Monday.

Simulated Musk, Zuckerberg voices are speaking from hacked crosswalk buttons

Wes Davis is a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020. Crosswalk buttons in at least three California cities appear to have been hacked this weekend to give them the seemingly AI-generated voices of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In videos posted online, the apparent voice of Musk begs listeners to be his friend, or that of Zuckerberg brags about "undermining democracy" and "cooking our grandparents' brains with AI slop." A Palo Alto, California city spokesperson told Palo Alto Online that city employees "determined that 12 downtown intersections were impacted," and have disabled the crosswalks' voice features pending repairs. The signals otherwise work as they should, they told the outlet. The hack seemed to have taken place on Friday, the person said. The same thing is happening in Redwood City, where a deputy city manager told The San Francisco Chronicle that the city is investigating and attempting to resolve the issue there. Crosswalk buttons in Menlo Park are also reportedly affected. The voice features of these buttons are used to guide people with difficulty seeing, letting them know when to "wait" and when the walk sign on the other end of the street has turned on. It's hard to tell how much, if at all, the simulated voices interfere with that, but they seem to be playing in addition to, rather than instead of the built-in safety notices, at least in some videos of the phenomenon. Here are some videos with the simulated voice of Musk, along with my transcriptions below each: 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 had a guest spot from a soundalike of President Donald Trump, clearly making light of Musk's close association with Trump: 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. One video published by Palo Alto Online featured this quote, spoken by a faked Zuckerberg's voice: 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! Otherwise, the other simulated Zuckerberg voice messages I found in videos online all had the same content: 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.

Hacker Hijacks Crosswalk Buttons to Mock Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg

A crosswalk button usually plays a beeping sound or a monotonous message. But over the weekend, several crosswalk systems in California's Silicon Valley were hacked to play AI-generated audio clips of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg mocking themselves. "Hi this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me the Zuck," one of the hijacked crosswalks told a pedestrian in Menlo Park, California, where Meta is based. "It's normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience," the audio clip continued. Audio recordings have also been spotted at crosswalks in Redwood City and Palo Alto. Video clips of the messages have since gone viral on social media. "Hi, I'm Elon, will you be my friend? I'll give you a Cybertruck, I promise," one of the clip says, using AI to authentically deepfake the Tesla CEO's voice. "You know they say money can't buy happiness," a separate clip of Musk says. "And yeah, I guess that's true. God knows I've tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck, and that's pretty sick, right? Right? F -- I'm so alone." It's unclear who's behind the apparent hacktivism. Both billionaire CEOs have faced public backlash, especially Musk over his support for President Trump and efforts to cut federal government jobs. According to Palo Alto Online, officials in the affected cities are investigating and have even temporarily shut down the voice announcement feature on the crosswalks. The crosswalk buttons might belong to Polara, a Texas-based company that's installed traffic signaling equipment in over 1,000 cities. The company also offers customers a wide catalog of audio messages that can be played on the company's traffic equipment. Polara didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. But on X, one person noted that the company's instruction manual says its equipment uses a factory default password of 1234 when connecting over Bluetooth through Polara's "Field Service" Android app, meaning it could be easily hacked.

Someone hacked Silicon Valley crosswalks to spoof Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk

Whether in Ancient Greek parodies, Shakespeare's subtle jabs at the haughty upper class or Jon Stewart's takedowns of the latest Washington absurdities, humor can be a razor-edged weapon that shapes public opinion. Last weekend, we were reminded again of comedy's ability to strike at the rich and powerful when someone hacked Silicon Valley crosswalks to play synthetic voice impersonations of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. "Hi, this is Elon Musk," the voice impersonating the Trump ally and federal government dismantler said. "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, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me the Zuck," the synthetic voice of Meta's CEO said over one crosswalk speaker. "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." The videos have accumulated over 100,000 likes on TikTok and nearly 400,000 views on X (ironically). Palo Alto Online reports (via TechCrunch) that they could be heard in downtown intersections in Redwood City, Menlo Park and Palo Alto but had been removed beginning on Saturday. "Hi, this is Elon Musk," another crosswalk speaker emitted. "And I'd like to personally welcome you to Palo Alto. People keep saying cancer is bad, but have you tried being a cancer? It's fucking awesome." "Hey, it's Zuck here," another voice said. "I just wanted 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 making the world less safe for trans people, nobody does it better than us. And I think that's pretty neat. Zuck out!" Finally, a Palo Alto speaker conducted armchair psychology on the Tesla CEO. "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. I mean, let's be real. It's not like I had any moral convictions to begin with, right?"

Silicon Valley crosswalks hacked to play fake AI voices of Musk and Zuckerberg

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. WTF?! A number of pedestrians in Silicon Valley got a surprise recently when crosswalks started to spout strange messages from what sounded like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. It turned out that the systems had been hacked and these were imitations of the billionaires' voices. Videos taken at locations in Redwood City, Menlo Park and Palo Alto showed the voices being played when the crosswalk buttons were pressed. One of the videos includes a voice that sounds very similar to Zuckerberg, identifying itself as "Zuck," proclaiming, "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." "From undermining democracy, to cooking our grandparents' brains with AI slop, to making the world less safe for trans people, nobody does it better than us - and I think that's pretty neat," the voice says. Another voice that sounded very similar to Musk said, "Okay, look, you don't know the level of depravity I would stoop to just for a crumb of approval." The voice also offers to give people a free Cybertruck if they become his friend. Another Musk soundbite states, "You know, people keep saying cancer is bad, but have you tried being a cancer? It's f**king awesome." It's unclear if the voices are recordings of (very good) impersonators or were created using AI, though the latter seems more likely as they have some small tell-tale signs of being artificially generated. Palo Alto Online reports that crosswalks on 12 downtown intersections were affected by the tampering, which, according to City of Palo Alto spokesperson Meghan Horrigan-Taylor, may have occurred on Friday. Horrigan-Taylor added that the signal operations of the crosswalks had not been affected, and that other traffic signals in the city had been checked to confirm that only the crosswalk voice recordings were impacted. One local resident said the crosswalks were no longer playing the messages on Saturday morning. It remains unclear how many crosswalks outside of Palo Alto were affected or how they were hacked. Officials from Redwood City said on Saturday that they were working to investigate and resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Musk has long been a divisive figure, a reputation that has been amplified since he took over as head of the department of government efficiency (DOGE). DOGE has overseen the elimination of approximately 279,445 federal jobs across 27 agencies within a three-month span following Donald Trump's January 20 inauguration. Zuckerberg, meanwhile, was found to be equally disliked by Republicans and Democrats in a poll earlier this year, despite the changes he introduced to Meta platforms seemingly to appease the Trump administration, including ending fact-checking and DEI programs.

Crosswalks in Silicon Valley Hacked to Talk Like Musk and Zuckerberg

In one snippet, a crosswalk hacked to sound like Mark Zuckerberg told individuals there was nothing they could do to stop progress of AI. Over the weekend, crosswalk pedestrian signals in the backyard of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk were hacked to play voices imitating their likeness. But they were not exactly kind to the billionaires, instead offering a commentary on the heightened polarization and distrust of the two leaders who have become more influential than ever in today's society and Washington in particular. “It’s normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience,†said a crosswalk button hacked to sound like Zuckerberg. “I just want to assure you, you don’t need to worry because there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it.†"Hi this is Elon Musk," begins another. "Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering. You know the saying 'money can't buy happiness,' I guess that's true. God knows I've tried, but it can buy a Cybertruck and that's pretty sick, right?" After a pause, the crosswalk continues, "Fuck I'm so alone" to an eruption of laughter in the background. It is fairly easy to recognize that the voices are synthetic, especially because Musk stutters often, and the voice in the videos enunciates clearly. Sadly, by looking at the comments on TikTok it seems many people cannot get the joke and do not understand it was the consequence of a hack, not an authorized use of the CEOs' voices. It is less funny when the joke has to be explained. Officials for Redwood City, California, told Palo Alto Online that it was “actively working to investigate and resolve the issue as quickly as possible.†Comments on social media suggest the problems appear to have been resolved by Monday. The vendor that makes the voice-enabled crosswalks is reportedly a company called Polara, which offers pedestrian signal buttons that can communicate with crosswalk signals over Bluetooth. Hacking the audio signals puts the blind and otherwise impaired in some danger, but at least it seems the hackers kept all the necessary alerts in placeâ€"the voices of Zuckerberg and Musk play after the signals are read. On the flip side, however, hearing these voices might induce someone to walk into oncoming traffic. Palo Alto was recently the site of protests against Musk and Tesla over his political ambitions that have made the electric car brand toxic to its original customer base. While many people may think of Fremont, California or Austin, Texas as Tesla's home, its engineering base is still concentrated in Palo Alto where the company was founded back in 2003. Americans' views of both executives tilt more negative than positive, with a recent poll by Pew Research Center finding that just over half of U.S. adults view Musk unfavorably, while a whopping 67% dislike Zuckerberg. Musk, at least, is well-liked by Republicans with 73% favorability for his alignment with President Trump. Zuckerberg is not beloved by either party. Maybe the public sees through his facade and knows Zuckerberg's political hard-right tilt is nothing more than thinly veiled attempt at a quid-pro-quo. Meta's anti-trust case, which could see the company forced to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, started on Monday. It is too bad that the billionaires would not likely hear the crosswalk voices themselves, since walking is, of course, something left to the plebeians.

Palo Alto street crossings roast 'Zuck' and 'Elon'

Voice imitations of famous CEOs claimed that the billionaires are undermining democracy and a cancer on society. Pedestrians in Silicon Valley got an uncomfortable surprise when pressing crosswalk buttons this weekend, upon which they heard satirical recordings that imitated billionaire tech CEOs. Voice clips pretending to be Facebook/Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk emanated from speakers meant to guide the visually impaired. "Hi, I'm Elon," said one speaker, in a reader-submitted video posted to Palo Alto Online (via Tom's Hardware). "Can we be friends? Will you be my friend? I'll give you a Cybertruck, I promise." The satirical message continued, "Okay, look, 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, right?" A video showing a similar recording from "Mark Zuckerberg" took aim at Meta's increasing presence in the AI space. "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." Other messages claimed that Zuckerberg was proud to "undermine democracy," "cook our grandparents' brains with AI slop," "[make] the world less safe for trans people," and that Musk thinks being a cancer on society is "awesome." The messages were reported in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Redwood City, where residents and visitors are undeniably aware of the huge presence that corporations like Meta, Tesla, X (formerly Twitter), and xAI have in the area. Musk, Zuckerberg, and other billionaires are facing intense public scrutiny as their companies and their personal actions -- sometimes in open cooperation with the Trump administration or bowing to its demands -- continue to affect Americans and others. According to a spokesperson for the city of Palo Alto, speakers at twelve intersections were affected and have been disabled. Nearby Redwood City is also affected, and deputy city manager said that staff were investigating as of Saturday evening. Exactly how this occurred -- for example, was it an outside hack or was it someone with access to the cities' infrastructures? -- is not clear.

'I'm so alone': Hacked pedestrian crossings mocks Musk

Hackers have reprogrammed pedestrian crossings in California to play messages mocking Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Instead of the usual "walk" or "wait" instructions, the apparently AI-generated voices were heard when users pushed the buttons to cross the road in several areas across Silicon Valley. One impersonation of Mr Musk, a key adviser to Donald Trump, asked pedestrians to be his friend in exchange for a Cybertruck, while a Zuckerberg-like voice said "real ones call me The Zuck". In another widely-shared video, a voice resembling Mr Musk's can be heard saying: "You know, money cannot be happiness and yeah I guess that's true, God knows I've tried. But it can buy a cyber truck and that's pretty sick right, right? F--- I am so alone." Authorities are now investigating the prank, which took place over the weekend close to businesses owned by the tech billionaires. In Menlo park, where Mr Zuckerberg's Meta's campus takes up more than 250 acres, pedestrians were greeted by a spoof message that said: "Hi this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me 'The Zuck'. "It is normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience."

Bay Area crosswalk signals hacked with AI messages impersonating Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg

This weekend, crosswalk signals in several Peninsula cities were hacked. Instead of telling people to wait for the light to change colors, there were AI-generated messages impersonating Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. There were reports of the AI messages in Menlo Park, Redwood City and Palo Alto. Bulou Varanisese was one of many people who saw the videos trending on social media, but she was skeptical that it was real. She decided to come down to University Avenue in Palo Alto and check it out herself. "It's a curious thing for me and I chased my curiosity. It never hurts to press a button, right?" Varanisese said. So she pressed it and heard an AI version of Elon Musk's voice say, "This is Elon Musk. Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla Engineering." She says she was shocked, then she thought it may have been intentionally put there. "I thought 'Oh, this is a newer way to advertise,'" Varanisese said. She first interpreted the message as a Tesla product plug. "You know they say, 'Money can't buy happiness' and yeah, OK, I guess that's true," said the AI voice of Musk. "God knows I've tried, but it can buy a Cybertruck, and that's pretty sick, right?" She said it made her laugh, but then she had a second thought. "After the amusement of it all I was like, 'Oh OK, it's definitely a security concern,'" Varanisese said. Retired FBI Agent Jeff Harp says people shouldn't be too concerned. That part of the crosswalk isn't that sophisticated of a system. Harp said this hack will result in the cities taking more safety precautions after a fairly mild inconvenience. "What this will do is it will bring it to the attention of the people who are putting these devices on the street, street lights, crosswalks and those sorts of things and they'll say, 'Hey wait a minute, we did need to install some anti-infiltration devices on them,'" Harp said. Harp said you'll never stop 100% of these types of hacks, but it is a reminder for everyone to protect their individual technological property. "The biggest takeaway from things like this is protect your passwords, don't open emails you don't recognize," he said. "All of these things." There were also some messages from an AI version of Mark Zuckerberg at some Palo Alto and Menlo Park locations. "Hi this is Mark Zuckerberg, but the real ones call me the Zuck," said one of the AI voices. It goes on to acknowledge this strange and slightly violating use of AI. "I just want to assure you there's no need to worry because there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it," the voice said. But overall, Varanisese enjoyed the experience. "I think it did add a layer of fun back to Palo Alto in a weird way because it's been quite stiff here," Varanisese said. About a dozen intersections in Palo Alto were impacted, the audible feature will stay disabled until the city can finish repairing them.

Silicon Valley crosswalks hacked to play satirical messages from Musk and Zuckerberg impersonators: '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." Citizens from several Silicon Valley communities have been capturing videos of crosswalk buttons that appear to have been hacked in an unusual way. Rather than the usual messages warning about traffic safety, the buttons instead appear to play satirical messages from Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg soundalikes. One Zuckerberg-a-like infected crosswalk reportedly told would-be traffic crossers "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." Another, this time impersonating the vocal stylings of one Elon Musk, appears to say "Okay, look, you don't know the level of depravity I would stoop to just for a crumb of approval." It's unclear if the messages have been created by AI voice generation, or whether actual impersonators have been employed to record the satirical messages. Regardless, local news outlet Palo Alto Online (via Tom's Hardware) reports that city employees have identified 12 downtown intersections that appear to have been tampered with, and have disabled the voice announcement feature until "repairs can be made." In Menlo Park, the location of Meta's global headquarters, another crosswalk button played a message from someone identifying themselves as "Zuck", who goes on to say: "I just wanted 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 making the world less safe for trans people, nobody does it better than us. And I think that's pretty neat." A local resident reports that some of the impacted buttons were no longer playing the messages on Saturday morning. Officials from Menlo Park and Redwood City have also confirmed they are aware of the hacks, and are working on a fix. City of Palo Alto spokesperson Meghan Horrigan Taylor told Palo Alto Online: "Other traffic signals in the city were checked and the impact is isolated. Signal operations are otherwise unaffected, and motorists are reminded to always exercise caution around pedestrians." For now, it appears no hacking group has claimed responsibility for the amus... I mean, public-safety-endangering messages, nor is it clear how each of the traffic signals were compromised. Still, it seems to have given several video-submitting residents a chuckle, and city officials something of a puzzle to solve over the weekend.

Hacked Crosswalks Play Biting Satirical Messages Imitating Musk And Zuckerberg

As we hurl ourselves as a species headfirst into the dystopian worlds of 1980s sci-fi movies, it seems only appropriate that we should see people responding to the tech-driven maelstrom by playing the role of vandal hackers. So it is that Silicon Valley crosswalks are currently playing satirical messages in the voices of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. "Hi, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me the Zuck," begins one Palo Alto crosswalk's voice message when the button is pressed. The voice -- either an impersonator or AI recreation -- continues, "You know, it's normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcibly insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience. And I just want to assure you, you don't need to worry because there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. Anyway, see ya!" It's a message that feels especially pertinent in the days following the enforced introduction of an entirely unwanted, impossible-to-remove AI button in Meta's WhatsApp. Another message that's been heard in multiple places is ostensibly spoken by unofficial U.S. vice president Elon Musk. "Hi, this is Elon Musk," the message begins. "Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering. You know, they say money can't buy you happiness..." There's then a long pause, before the voice picks up again. "And yeah, OK, I guess that's true -- God knows I've tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck, and that's pretty sick, right? Fuck, I'm so alone." A third hack, also featuring a recreation or imitation of Musk's voice, makes a deliberately bad joke about cancer, which doesn't really land. According to NBC, it's not clear how the hacks occurred. Done on Friday, April 11, it took city officials a couple of days to become aware of them, allowing plenty of viral recordings to be made and enjoyed. The chief communications officer for the City of Palo Alto told NBC that the audio feature on the affected crosswalks has now been disabled, adding that it was only affecting a small number of crossings, and that "signal operations are otherwise unaffected." Other crossings were hacked in Menlo Park and Redwood City, which were also fixed over the weekend. This does seem like exactly the sort of tech-forward rebellion our newfound The Running Man reality demands. I hope those responsible had spikey green mohawks and wore bandana masks with skulls-and-crossbones printed on them, letting out a high-pitched cackle as they drove away on neon-covered motorbikes.

Hacked Silicon Valley crosswalk signals imitate Musk, Zuckerberg's voices: Listen

The auditory instructions of some crosswalks in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City, California were hacked last week to feature voices that sounded like Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, per videos shared online and obtained by USA TODAY. Here's what we know about the hacked crosswalk signals. What did the crosswalk signals say? Social media user Bulou Varanisese shared a video of her interacting with a crosswalk in downtown Palo Alto that resembled Musk's voice over the weekend. "Hi, this is Elon Musk. Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering," the crosswalk auditory instructions said. "You know, they say money can't buy happiness, and ... I guess that's true. God knows I've tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck and that's pretty sick, right? Right? (Expletive), I'm so alone." A City of Palo Alto spokesperson told Storyful on Saturday that it was "determined that 12 downtown intersections were similarly malfunctioning," suspecting that the tampering occurred on Friday. The audio features were disabled on the affected crosswalks until repairs can be made. City of Palo Alto staff did not immediately respond for comment when contacted by USA TODAY on April 15. TikTok user Keagan B. posted a video, also this weekend, of her pushing a crosswalk button in Menlo Park, California, and then hearing a voice that sounded like Zuckerberg's. "Hi, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me 'The Zuck.' It's normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every ... facet of your conscious experience," the voice said. "And I just want to assure you, you don't need to worry because there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. Anyways, see ya." Officials in Redwood City told Storyful that they had identified four locations where crosswalk features were hacked. Redwood City staff did not immediately respond for comment when contacted by USA TODAY on April 15. The California Department of Transportation told the Los Angeles Times that officials were in talks with Menlo Park city staff to investigate the incident, which occurred near Meta's campus.

'I'm So Alone': Hackers Create AI-Voices Mimicking Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg at Crosswalks in Silicon Valley. Here's What They Say.

It seems like tech overlords have inserted themselves into many facets of our daily lives -- and you can add crosswalks to the list. Hackers, who presumably wanted to make a statement about the unwanted presence and influence of tech billionaires, added voices mimicking Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk to crosswalk buttons in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Redwood City, Calif. Related: Elon Musk Says xAI Acquired Social Media X for $33 Billion In downtown Palo Alto, a message mimicking Elon Musk greeted pedestrians with this message: "Hi, this is Elon Musk. Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering," said the Musk mimicker. "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? F***, I'm so alone." NBC Bay Area reports that, when pressed, a crosswalk button in Menlo Park on the corner of El Camino Real and Santa Cruz Avenue delivered the following message: "Hi, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but the real ones call me the Zuck. You know, it's normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcibly insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience. And I just want to assure you, you don't need to worry because there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. Anyway, see ya." Meghan Horrigan-Taylor, chief communications officer for the City of Palo Alto, told reporters that they believe the hack happened on Friday night. "City staff have disabled the audible feature until further repairs can be made," she said. "Other traffic signals in the City were checked and the impact is isolated. Signal operations are otherwise unaffected, and motorists are reminded to always exercise caution around pedestrians." NBC Bay Area says that Tesla did not respond to its request for comment, though, we gotta say, that seems like an open invitation for hackers to comment for you.

Hacked Crosswalk Buttons In California Play AI-Generated Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg Voice Clips Mocking Democracy, Begging For Friends - Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Pedestrians in at least three California cities were met with bizarre AI-generated voice clips mimicking Tesla Inc. TSLA and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Meta Platforms Inc.'s META Mark Zuckerberg after crosswalk buttons were reportedly hacked over the weekend. What Happened: In several online videos, a voice resembling Musk pleads for friendship, while one mimicking Zuckerberg boasts about "undermining democracy." A spokesperson for the city of Palo Alto told Palo Alto Online that staff identified 12 downtown intersections affected by the incident and have since turned off the voice features on the crosswalks while they work on repairs. The pedestrian signals themselves are still functioning normally. The breach is believed to have occurred on Friday, the spokesperson added. See Also: Trump Administration Veteran Dina Powell, Stripe CEO Join Meta As Mark Zuckerberg Reshapes Company Redwood City is facing a similar situation, with a deputy city manager telling The San Francisco Chronicle that officials are currently looking into the matter and working to fix it. Reports suggest that crosswalk buttons in Menlo Park may have been compromised as well. In one of the videos posted online, the AI-generated voice of Musk can be heard saying, "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? F***, I'm so alone." Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox. In another video, the AI-generated voice of Zuckerberg said, "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 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!" One recording also impersonated President Donald Trump in a mock exchange with AI Musk. Why It's Important: Earlier this year, a widely circulated AI-generated video depicting Scarlett Johansson alongside other Jewish celebrities sparked renewed fears about the dangers of deepfake technology, leading Johansson to urge lawmakers to implement stricter AI regulations. Johansson has frequently been targeted by AI misuse. In 2023, she threatened legal action over an unauthorized ad featuring her likeness, and in 2024, she called out OpenAI for giving ChatGPT's Sky assistant a voice that sounded strikingly similar to her own. Similar incidents have affected other public figures as well -- fabricated visuals and altered audio of individuals like Taylor Swift and former President Joe Biden gained significant traction last year. Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Read Next: Tim Cook Praises China's DeepSeek For Driving Efficiency, Stresses Apple's 'Prudent And Deliberate' Approach Toward Capital Expenditure Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock METAMeta Platforms Inc$551.871.53%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full ScoreEdge RankingsMomentum73.56Growth74.90Quality-Value43.48Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewTSLATesla Inc$253.880.62%Got Questions? AskHow will hacking incidents impact tech stocks?Which cybersecurity firms could see increased demand?What implications for AI regulation may arise from this event?How might this affect public sentiment towards tech companies?Could deepfake technology spur more investment in ethics-focused startups?Which companies might benefit from stricter AI regulations?How will this incident influence investments in AI safety technologies?Are there opportunities in enhancing digital security systems?Could this lead to a surge in insurance policies for tech firms?What potential impacts on social media platforms could investors anticipate?Powered ByMarket News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs