A crosswalk push button at the corner of Denny Way and Fairview Avenue in Seattle emits what appeared to be an AI-generated voice of Jeff Bezos. — The Seattle Times/TNS
As pedestrians waited to cross Denny Way and Fairview Avenue in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighbourhood Wednesday morning, an unfamiliar voice emanated out of the crosswalk push buttons at each corner of the intersection.
“Hi, I’m Jeff Bezos,” said what appeared to be an AI-generated voice. “This crosswalk is sponsored by Amazon Prime with an important message. You know, please don’t tax the rich, otherwise all the other billionaires will move to Florida too. Wouldn’t it be terrible if all the rich people left Seattle or got Luigi-ed and then the normal people could afford to live here again?”
The hacked message, which alludes to Luigi Mangione who faces murder charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, comes at a time when billionaires like Bezos, who founded Amazon, have faced anger from some in the public for being part of what they see as a growing oligarchy.
A fortnight ago, crosswalk buttons in Northern California emitted voices that sounded like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
Some on Reddit also spotted crosswalk push buttons in Seattle’s University District emitting a similar message spoofing Bezos.
Seattle Department of Transportation crews worked April 16 to find and fix hacked crosswalk push buttons, the department said in a statement.
“The audio recordings at crosswalks play a critical role for people who are blind or have limited vision, helping them to cross streets safely. We are concerned that someone would disregard the safety of people to make a political statement,” read the statement.
“We take this matter seriously and are working as fast as we can to respond to the situation. We are also working with our vendor to explore stronger security measures to prevent future hacking.”
The department did not say how the signals were hacked.
At the South Lake Union intersection, which is near several Amazon office buildings, a snippet of American comedian and musician Bo Burnham’s song “Bezos I” followed the message and was sometimes interrupted by the usual female voice repeating “Walk sign is on. Crossing Fairview Avenue.”
Some pedestrians laughed and took out their phones to video the crosswalk sign. Others looked around confused. Those with headphones on didn’t even notice.
Julian Pritchard, who grew up in Seattle and is a South Lake Union resident, said the message wasn’t a surprising one to hear in Seattle.
“(Bezos) is a popular target in Seattle. He symbolises the 1%, the wealthy, the elite,” Pritchard said. “I think people are unhappy about levels of inequality in Seattle, about lack of affordable housing and just the cost of living in general.
Pritchard ventured to guess that whoever did the hacking is trying to radicalise people.
“They think that if you hear this message, you will be encouraged to learn about inequality and capitalism,” Pritchard said. “I don’t know how effective it’s going to be at that, but I think that’s probably the intent of whoever did this.” – The Seattle Times/Tribune News Service
