Silicon Valley Crosswalks Hacked to Feature Voices of Tech Giants

In a curious turn of events, crosswalks in Silicon Valley have been subject to a peculiar hack, where the pedestrian signals now broadcast messages in the voices of renowned tech billionaires, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Videos of these altered signals have recently surfaced online, drawing both amusement and concern from local residents.

Messages Heard at the Crosswalks

Footage shared on social media displays a crosswalk in Palo Alto, California, featuring an impression of Elon Musk. The signal announces:

“Hi, this is Elon Musk, welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering. 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? F*** I’m so alone.”

Additionally, another video from Palo Alto reveals a signal spoofed to sound like Mark Zuckerberg. The voice conveys a stark warning:

“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.”

Community Reactions to the Hacking

Local residents have expressed a range of reactions to this unexpected twist on public infrastructure. In an interview with FOX 2 San Francisco reporter Betty Yu, Amber Levine from Redwood City commented:

“It’s just so disorienting – it is very cool protest art. I have no idea how they did it or got into the system.”

Calvin McDonald, another Redwood City local, added his thoughts:

“I thought it was funny. I don’t condone hacking public services to have a humorous message… but I laughed about it.”

Nik Evitt, a Redwood City worker, raised a more serious point, stating:

“I think it speaks to how the public should be more aware of what’s going on with AI and the consequences of our data ending up in centralized databases – especially when the government isn’t necessarily under the democratic control that we’d hope to see.”

Extent of the Hacking Incident

According to reports, city officials in Redwood City have confirmed the hacking of four crosswalk signals. Moreover, representatives from Menlo Park are collaborating with the California Department of Transportation to investigate a similarly impacted crosswalk near the Meta campus.

A spokesperson from Palo Alto mentioned that an employee reported irregularities in the voice announcements of a crosswalk, which led to the discovery that at least 12 intersections downtown were possibly tampered with.

Ongoing Investigations

Investigations are currently underway to determine the culprits behind these hacking incidents, with local authorities in California cities actively seeking answers.

For further insights on this topic, additional information has been drawn from trusted sources such as Storyful and reports from The Los Angeles Times.