Hacked Crosswalks Play Biting Satirical Messages Imitating Musk And Zuckerberg

As we hurtle ourselves headfirst into the dystopian worlds of 1980s sci-fi movies, it seems only fitting that people would respond to the tech-driven maelstrom by playing the role of vandal hackers. The streets of Silicon Valley are now home to a bizarre phenomenon: crosswalks with satirical messages imitating the voices of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.

The first message, played on a Palo Alto crosswalk, is voiced like an impersonator or AI recreation of the Facebook CEO. It begins with a familiar greeting: "Hi, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me the Zuck." The voice 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!" This message 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 has been heard in multiple places, supposedly spoken by Elon Musk himself. "Hi, this is Elon Musk," it begins. "Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering." The voice continues, "You know, they say money can't buy you happiness...". There's a long pause before the voice picks up again, saying, "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." This message is a testament to Musk's reputation for being a self-proclaimed visionary who often struggles with the darker aspects of his own success.

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. It's clear that those responsible for these hacks had no intention of making the most of their creative endeavor, and simply wanted to poke fun at the tech giants they represent.

According to NBC, it's not clear how the hacks occurred. They were done on Friday, April 11th, and 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. We can almost imagine those responsible for these hacks sporting spikey green mohawks, wearing bandana masks with skulls-and-crossbones printed on them, and letting out a high-pitched cackle as they drove away on neon-covered motorbikes. But in all seriousness, it's refreshing to see people taking the tech industry to task, even if it's just through a series of playful pranks.