SAN FRANCISCO: Pedestrian crosswalks in California's Silicon Valley were emitting recordings over the weekend that mocked US President Donald Trump and tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, according to widely shared videos.
Instead of the usual “walk” or “wait” audio instructions, crosswalk speakers at some intersections in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City played recordings that sounded like the tech titans.
“You know, they say money can’t buy happiness, and... I guess that’s true,“ the crosswalk audio says in one video posted over the weekend on TikTok, Meta-owned Instagram and Musk's social platform X.
“God knows I’ve tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck and that’s pretty sick, right? Right? ... I’m so alone.”
In another widely circulating video, a Musk-sounding voice emerges from the crosswalk signal and talks about Trump.
“You know it’s funny, I used to think he was just this dumb sack of shit. But, well, when you get to know him, he’s actually really sweet and tender and loving.”
A voice resembling Trump’s replies: “Sweetie, come back to bed.”
Meta CEO Zuckerberg was not spared. In another video viewed more than 400,000 times on X, a crosswalk sign appears to emit the audio: “Hi, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me 'The Zuck.' It's normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every ... facet of your conscious experience.
“And I just want to assure you, you don’t need to worry because there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. Anyways, see ya.”
It was not clear who was behind the messages playing at the crosswalks, which returned to normal by Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Palo Alto City spokesperson Meghan Horrigan-Taylor told US media that 12 downtown intersections were impacted and authorities had disabled the audio feature until it could be repaired.
The tampering may have happened on Friday, Horrigan-Taylor said, according to Palo Alto Online.
City official Jennifer Yamaguma told the San Francisco Chronicle that four crosswalks in Redwood City were impacted.
“The unauthorized messages have since been disabled, and staff are evaluating ways to strengthen system protections,“ Deputy City Manager Yamaguma said.
“We also want to remind the public that tampering with City infrastructure, including crosswalk signals, is unlawful and poses a safety risk.”
