Hackers Make Seattle Talking Crosswalks Say “Don’t Tax the Rich”

Especially at newer intersections, or near schools, we've all heard those flashing crosswalks that say "wait...wait...wait"  or some other safety message, in a robotic-sounding voice. Well, hackers in Seattle took it way beyond that.

 Our image shows a typical design of a 'talking' crosswalk, this one by Kamiakin HS.

  Hackers reprogram dozens of Seattle crosswalks with hilarious political message

Seattle-based world tech reporting leader Geekwire says the hackers broke in, and using an AI-generated version of Amazon found Jeff Bezos' voice, reprogrammed the crosswalks to say "Don't Tax the Rich,."

Imagine standing there, and hearing that message repeated over and over.

According to Geekwire, several crosswalks in the down area spouted off this messaage:

“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."

That's a reference to Bezos' relocation to Florida to avoid the controversial capital gains tax, the move saved him nearly a billion dollars. He also just sold his Hunts Point house in the last days for $63 million.

The tax message is in reference to a slew of Democrat-party sponsored tax increases this legislative session, including an attempt to expand the capital gains tax.

According to Geekwire, there are two different hacks taking place with this stunt. The first reinforces the growing number of AI-spoofs involving using the tech to recreate fake messages using a person's voice;  it's been done using a person's likeness as well (video).

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But perhaps more troubling to Seattle authorities is how the hackers were able to get into the main sidewalk programming system. Crosswalks are part of the traffic safety infrastructure in cities, not just Seattle, and this hacking raises potential safety issues.

Reportedly, there's a YouTube video circulating about how to pull off a similar stunt, and Geekwire prepared a video that explains what happened in this situation.

  The Geekwire report goes on to explain how this type of thing has happened before, involving ring doorbells and other related tech.