Crosswalks hacked in Silicon Valley to play AI voices

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Over the weekend, a bizarre and humorous prank hit the streets of Silicon Valley: several pedestrian crosswalks were hacked to play fake voice messages that mimicked famous tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. 

According to local reports, particularly from Palo Alto Online, people using crosswalks in areas like Redwood City, Menlo Park, and downtown Palo Alto were surprised to hear not the usual safety instructions but instead satirical impersonations of these tech moguls. 

The prank didn’t just change the voices, it replaced important pedestrian warnings with sarcastic and often absurd commentary poking fun at Musk and Zuckerberg. 

City officials from Palo Alto said the prank affected 12 downtown crosswalks and probably took place on Friday. 

Officials from Redwood City and Menlo Park confirmed they were also impacted and are working on restoring normal function, though the exact number of hacked crosswalks in those areas is still unknown. 

Fortunately, the actual traffic signals were not disrupted, but the voice feature, originally intended to help pedestrians, especially those with visual impairments, was compromised. 

As a result, the cities have disabled the voice function entirely for now. The parody messages were especially bold and strange. 

For instance, one fake “Zuckerberg” message joked about forcing AI into people’s lives and claimed users shouldn’t worry because there’s nothing they can do to stop it. 

Other lines mocked topics like democracy and “AI slop.” 

Meanwhile, the Musk impersonations were equally outrageous. One message, for example, bizarrely compared being a cancer to something “awesome,” while others mocked his tendency to surround himself with paid admirers and his famously self-centered public persona. 

Videos of these hacked crosswalks, complete with audio, have been circulating online. 

While the messages were meant to entertain and provoke, the incident also raises questions about security in public infrastructure and the fine line between satire and potential public nuisance. 

For now, the cities are cleaning up the prank.

What are your thoughts on this prank? Do you think it’s appropriate or crosses a line? Tell us below in the comments, or via our Twitter or Facebook.