Seattle crosswalk buttons hacked to sound like Jeff Bezos; SDOT exploring ‘stronger security measures’

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comment from the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Don’t cross Jeff Bezos on taxes, cross with Jeff Bezos.

An AI-enabled version of the Amazon founder’s voice has apparently been hacked into audio-enhanced crosswalk buttons in Seattle, following a recent trend that targeted other tech leaders in Silicon Valley.

In videos on Reddit on Wednesday, fake (but very real-sounding) Bezos can be heard delivering a message to pedestrians who engage crosswalk buttons in the University District and South Lake Union.

“Hi, I’m Jeff Bezos,” the voice says. “This crosswalk is sponsored by Amazon Prime, with an important message — 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’d? And then normal people could afford to live here again.”

The Seattle Department of Transportation told GeekWire Wednesday that it’s taking the matter very seriously, responding to hacked crosswalk push buttons in several locations and correcting 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,” SDOT said in an emailed statement. “We are concerned that someone would disregard the safety of people to make a political statement.”

SDOT added that it’s working as fast as it can to respond to the situation and also working with its vendor “to explore stronger security measures to prevent future hacking.”

GeekWire tracked down buttons playing the audio at Fairview Avenue North and Denny Way, in the heart of the South Lake Union neighborhood where Amazon’s headquarters campus is located. Watch below:

Bezos left Seattle for South Florida in 2023, raising questions at the time about whether Washington state’s capital gains tax was partly to blame. The Luigi reference is to Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City in December.

The audio also includes a snippet of the viral Bezos song by musician Bo Burnham.

TechCrunch reported on crosswalk buttons in Silicon Valley being hacked last weekend to include audio from voices that sound like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

“It’s normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience,” said the Zuckerberg-sounding button. “I just want to assure you, you don’t need to worry because there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it.” 

“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?” said the Musk-like button. “Fuck, I’m so alone.”

It’s unknown who is behind the stunt or how hackers may have infiltrated the technology that controls the devices, which usually emit audio commands for pedestrians such as “Wait” or “Walk sign is on.” But a comment on Reddit included a link to a YouTube video in which the host — while not encouraging such “hacktivism” — shows how it might be done.

The effort goes a step beyond the usual graffiti and stickers around Seattle that target Bezos, Amazon and tech’s impact on the city in a variety of ways.

SDOT said it will continue to respond to tampered push buttons as it learns of them. The agency said people can help by reporting issues at crosswalks in one of the following ways: email 684-ROAD@seattle.gov; use the Find It, Fix It app (available on the Google Play Store and iPhone App Store); use this online form; or call 206-684-ROAD (7623).