Hacked Crosswalks in Silicon Valley Chatter Like Musk and Zuckerberg
In an unusual turn of events, crosswalk pedestrian signals in the backyard of tech titans Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg were hacked over the weekend. The hacked crosswalk signals in Redwood City, California, played voices imitating the likeness of the billionaires, offering commentary on the heightened polarization and distrust of the two leaders.
According to reports, the vendor responsible for the voice-enabled crosswalks is a company called Polara. It is known that Polara's pedestrian signal buttons can communicate with crosswalk signals over Bluetooth, which could have been the entry point for the hack.
The impersonated voice in the video, believed to be that of Elon Musk, said, "You know the saying 'money can't buy happiness,' I guess that's true. God knows I've tried, but it can buy a Cybertruck and that's pretty sick, right?" The voice also uttered, "Fuck I'm so alone" to an eruption of laughter in the background.
Similarly, the voice imitating Mark Zuckerberg said, "I just want to assure you, you don't need to worry because there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it." Another video posted to TikTok impersonated Elon Musk welcoming visitors to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering.
Hacking the audio signals poses a potential danger to the blind and otherwise impaired, as it could create confusion and disorientation. However, it is reassuring that the hacked crosswalk signals kept all necessary alerts in place.
The recent poll by Pew Research Center found that just over half of U.S. adults view Musk unfavorably, while a whopping 67% dislike Zuckerberg. These findings reflect the negative sentiments towards the tech leaders, which seem to have been exploited in this incident.
Redwood City is actively investigating and resolving the issue with the hacked crosswalk signals. Meanwhile, the hack has sparked concerns about the increasing use of AI and its potential impact on public safety and privacy. Recent surveying by YouGov found that 44% of Americans are skeptical of AI over concerns ranging from invasion of personal privacy to the spread of misleading videos or deepfakes.
It is important to note that no details were found about any hack on crosswalk pedestrian signals in the neighborhoods of Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk. The search results focus on Mark Zuckerberg's extensive real estate purchases and property expansions in Palo Alto's Crescent Park, describing neighborhood disruption due to construction, surveillance, and community impact, but do not mention any incidents involving pedestrian signal hacks or related public safety issues.
Despite the incident, Palo Alto remains a hub for tech innovation, with Tesla's engineering base still concentrated there, where the company was founded in 2003. The city has also been the site of protests against Musk and Tesla over his political ambitions.
Meta, on the other hand, has been promoting the idea of interacting with AI characters tailored to a user's interests in lieu of real humans. However, the hacked crosswalk incident highlights the potential dangers of such a move, especially when it comes to public safety and privacy concerns.
[1] Article on Mark Zuckerberg's real estate purchases in Palo Alto [2] Article on community impact due to Mark Zuckerberg's property expansions in Palo Alto [3] Article on protests against Musk and Tesla in Palo Alto
- The incident of hacked crosswalk signals, imitating Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, has sparked concerns about the use of artificial intelligence in social media and entertainment, potentially leading to misinformation and deepfakes, as shown by Meta's plans to interact with AI characters.
- Following the hack, general news outlets, such as Gizmodo, have reported on the dangers posed to the blind and impaired by such hacking, given the confusion and disorientation it could cause.
- As Redwood City works to resolve the hacked crosswalk signals issue, concerns about the potential impact of technology and artificial intelligence on future politics have arisen, given the growing distrust towards tech leaders like Musk and Zuckerberg, as revealed by polls like the one by Pew Research Center.
- In light of the hack, questions about privacy and safety, particularly in the realm of crime and justice, are being raised, as the hacked crosswalk signals incident could set a dangerous precedent for future attacks.
- The hacked crosswalk signals in Redwood City also highlight the need for increased security measures in technology and tech infrastructure, particularly for vendors like Polara, which control devices intended for public use, to prevent similar incidents in the future.
