Nano Banana 2 removed from Google Earth
Google has temporarily suspended its new image generation feature in Google Earth after users demonstrated that it could be used to create misleading or harmful imagery. Despite safety guardrails, researchers were able to generate realistic images of conflict zones and disasters, prompting the company to pause the tool to improve its safety protocols.
Why it matters
This incident highlights the ongoing challenges tech companies face in balancing generative AI capabilities with the risk of misinformation and misuse in public-facing tools.
Google has rolled back the image generation feature it launched in Google Earth on 30 July. The tool let anyone zoom to any coordinates, type a sentence, and get back a photorealistic image built on Google’s own satellite, aerial and 3D imagery of that spot. It went live worldwide, on the web, with no waitlist. It was withdrawn on 31 July.
Google’s statement, posted by its News from Google account and added to the top of the original announcement:
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