Overview

• Multiple Seattle crosswalk buttons were hacked to play AI-generated audio mimicking Jeff Bezos, urging pedestrians not to support taxing the wealthy.
• The altered messages referenced wealth inequality, Bezos' move to Florida, and included a snippet of Bo Burnham's satirical song 'Bezos I.'
• The Seattle Department of Transportation confirmed it has corrected tampered audio at multiple locations and is implementing stronger security measures.
• Officials emphasized the critical role of crosswalk audio for visually impaired pedestrians and condemned the compromise of safety for political messaging.
• Similar incidents in Silicon Valley earlier this month spoofed the voices of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, highlighting vulnerabilities in public infrastructure.