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.
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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.”
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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.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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