Seattle crosswalk signals with deepfake Bezos may have been hacked with just a cellphone

Pedestrians hear AI-generated messages from billionaires at hacked crosswalks

In Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City and Seattle, crosswalks have been rigged to play what appear to be satirical deepfakes of billionaire tech giants.

Seattle crosswalk signals with deepfake Bezos may have been hacked with just a cellphone

Instead of the little robotic voice that tells you to wait until it's safe to cross, at least five intersections in Seattle last week played something like this: "Hi, I'm Jeff Bezos. This crosswalk is sponsored by Amazon Prime with an important message. You know, please, please don't tax the rich, otherwise all the other billionaires will move to Florida, too."

Seattle crosswalks hijacked with deepfake Jeff Bezos recordings and bizarre Luigi Mangione reference

Pedestrians in Seattle received an unexpected — and unsettling — message at several crosswalks last week: instead of the standard “walk” or “wait,” an AI-generated voice resembling Jeff Bezos pleaded against taxing the rich and referenced a notorious local murder. At least six crosswalks throughout the city were reportedly hacked to play audio that mimicked the Amazon founder’s voice, complete with political satire and an eerie allusion to the k…