Pedestrians in Silicon Valley got an uncomfortable surprise when pressing crosswalk buttons this weekend, upon which they heard satirical recordings that imitated billionaire tech CEOs. Voice clips pretending to be Facebook/Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk emanated from speakers meant to guide the visually impaired.
“Hi, I’m Elon,” said one speaker, in a reader-submitted video posted to Palo Alto Online (via Tom’s Hardware). “Can we be friends? Will you be my friend? I’ll give you a Cybertruck, I promise.” The satirical message continued, “Okay, look, you don’t know the level of depravity I would stoop to just for a crumb of approval. I mean, let’s be real, it’s not like I had any moral convictions to begin with, right?”
A video showing a similar recording from “Mark Zuckerberg” took aim at Meta’s increasing presence in the AI space. “You know, 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.”
Other messages claimed that Zuckerberg was proud to “undermine democracy,” “cook our grandparents’ brains with AI slop,” “[make] the world less safe for trans people,” and that Musk thinks being a cancer on society is “awesome.”
The messages were reported in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Redwood City, where residents and visitors are undeniably aware of the huge presence that corporations like Meta, Tesla, X (formerly Twitter), and xAI have in the area. Musk, Zuckerberg, and other billionaires are facing intense public scrutiny as their companies and their personal actions—sometimes in open cooperation with the Trump administration or bowing to its demands—continue to affect Americans and others.
According to a spokesperson for the city of Palo Alto, speakers at twelve intersections were affected and have been disabled. Nearby Redwood City is also affected, and deputy city manager said that staff were investigating as of Saturday evening. Exactly how this occurred—for example, was it an outside hack or was it someone with access to the cities’ infrastructures?—is not clear.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.