Google nixes its Earth AI feature one day after launch, amid criticism it would spread misinformation
Google has withdrawn a new AI image generation feature for Google Earth just one day after its launch due to concerns regarding the potential for misinformation. Critics argued that allowing users to superimpose AI-generated images onto satellite maps could be easily abused.
Why it matters
This incident underscores the ongoing challenges tech companies face in balancing creative AI tools with the need to prevent the spread of deceptive or harmful content.
Google rolled out a new feature on Thursday that allowed users to deploy Nano Banana 2, its AI image generator, to create fabricated images inside its satellite imagery mapping app Google Earth. The whole point of this feature, Google said, was to get creative with geography.
But critics quickly pointed out that the tool could be used to create and spread misinformation. The tool, which was prompt-based and allowed pretty much any image to be superimposed over real maps, seemed like a recipe for a deluge of geospatial slop.
“There’s no way that this new AI image generation feature on Google Earth, one of the most reliable sources of visual evidence for journalists and researchers, could possibly be abused to spread misinformation online,” a BBC journalist posted sarcastically Thursday.
Now, only a day after the feature’s release, Google has scrapped it.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in