Alphabet's Google is rolling back an AI image-generation feature it added to Google Earth just one day earlier. The tool used Google's Nano Banana 2 model. Users could type a text prompt and create photorealistic images based on the service's satellite, aerial and 3D views of any place on Earth. Critics quickly raised concerns about misinformation. The feature let people overlay fake scenes on real images of landmarks and monuments. Google said on X that geospatial professionals found useful ways to use it. But people also shared screenshots of generated images that appeared to break the company's policies. The firm is pausing the tool while it builds stronger guardrails. Google did not detail which images caused the problem. It noted that the generated pictures never showed up in the main Google Earth view for other users and carried AI watermarks.
Alphabet's Google is rolling back an AI image-generation feature it added to Google Earth just one day earlier. The tool used Google's Nano Banana 2 model. Users could type a text prompt and create photorealistic images based on the service's satellite, aerial and 3D views of any place on Earth. Critics quickly raised concerns about misinformation. The feature let people overlay fake scenes on real images of landmarks and monuments. Google said on X that geospatial professionals found useful ways to use it. But people also shared screenshots of generated images that appeared to break the company's policies. The firm is pausing the tool while it builds stronger guardrails. Google did not detail which images caused the problem. It noted that the generated pictures never showed up in the main Google Earth view for other users and carried AI watermarks.