Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has become the latest ‘victim’ to have his voice mimicked by AI in hacked crosswalk audio recordings in the US. This follows similar incidents involving tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. The latest instance occurred in Seattle, where pedestrians heard an AI-generated voice claiming to be Bezos instead of the usual "Wait!" message. Videos of these hacked recordings were shared by users on platforms like Reddit and X, revealing that crosswalks across the city were affected.
As per the video, Bezos’ AI-generated voice greeted pedestrians by saying: “Hello this is Jeff Bezos. This crosswalk is sponsored by Amazon Prime with an important message. Please, 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, then normal people could afford to live here again?”
The message ended with comedian Bo Burnham’s “Bezos I” tune playing.
What Amazon and the Seattle Department of Transportation said
In a statement to KIRO7 TV, an Amazon spokesperson said: “We do not endorse or sponsor these crosswalks.”
However, the report didn’t specify how many crosswalk buttons were impacted in Seattle.
As per one of the X posts, the Seattle Department of Transportation said: “The Seattle Department of Transportation is responding to hacked crosswalk push buttons in several locations which have been altered to play fake audio messages. We have corrected walk signal messages in multiple locations and continue to respond to tampered push buttons as we learn of them.
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.
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.
Our crews are currently on-site looking for additional hacked crosswalk push buttons. People can also help by reporting tampered crosswalks.”
Earlier this week, crosswalk speakers throughout Silicon Valley played AI‑generted voices of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
A Zuckerberg soundalike reportedly said: “It’s normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience. I just want to assure you, you don’t need to worry because there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it.”
Meanwhile, reports claim that Musk’s AI-generated voice on crosswalks said: “I guess they say money can’t buy happiness … I guess that’s true. God knows I’ve tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck and that’s pretty sick, right? F***, I’m so alone.”
met one of the jeff bezos crosswalks on my way to class this morning 😭 pic.twitter.com/LALWqNp7BW
— hoa 🚃 (@dalso_snopas) April 16, 2025
SDOT says they are working to fix the crosswalk buttons that have been tampered with and are asking people to report any others they see around town https://t.co/JNbe7xKGae @komonews pic.twitter.com/Ruz7ZzgQ7e
— Lynnanne Nguyen (@LynnanneNguyen) April 16, 2025
As per the video, Bezos’ AI-generated voice greeted pedestrians by saying: “Hello this is Jeff Bezos. This crosswalk is sponsored by Amazon Prime with an important message. Please, 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, then normal people could afford to live here again?”
The message ended with comedian Bo Burnham’s “Bezos I” tune playing.
What Amazon and the Seattle Department of Transportation said
In a statement to KIRO7 TV, an Amazon spokesperson said: “We do not endorse or sponsor these crosswalks.”
However, the report didn’t specify how many crosswalk buttons were impacted in Seattle.
As per one of the X posts, the Seattle Department of Transportation said: “The Seattle Department of Transportation is responding to hacked crosswalk push buttons in several locations which have been altered to play fake audio messages. We have corrected walk signal messages in multiple locations and continue to respond to tampered push buttons as we learn of them.
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.
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.
Our crews are currently on-site looking for additional hacked crosswalk push buttons. People can also help by reporting tampered crosswalks.”
Earlier this week, crosswalk speakers throughout Silicon Valley played AI‑generted voices of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
A Zuckerberg soundalike reportedly said: “It’s normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience. I just want to assure you, you don’t need to worry because there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it.”
Meanwhile, reports claim that Musk’s AI-generated voice on crosswalks said: “I guess they say money can’t buy happiness … I guess that’s true. God knows I’ve tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck and that’s pretty sick, right? F***, I’m so alone.”
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