Overview

• Hackers targeted audio-enabled crosswalk buttons in Seattle, programming them to play AI-generated messages mimicking Jeff Bezos opposing wealth taxes.
• The Seattle Department of Transportation has corrected the tampered audio at all known locations and is implementing stronger security measures to prevent future incidents.
• The spoofed messages referenced Bezos’s recent move to Florida and included satirical commentary on housing affordability and taxation in Washington state.
• Similar hacks occurred in Silicon Valley days earlier, featuring AI-generated voices of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg delivering satirical messages.
• The incident highlights vulnerabilities in public infrastructure and the misuse of synthetic media, with no suspects or motives yet identified.