Google has put the brakes on an AI image-generation feature it had introduced in Google Earth just a day earlier, after users shared images that appeared to violate the company’s policies.The feature, powered by Google’s Nano Banana 2 AI model, allowed users to generate photorealistic images grounded in Google Earth’s satellite, aerial and 3D imagery by simply typing a text prompt for any location on the globe.
The tool quickly came under criticism for its potential for misinformation that could have catastrophic consequences, as anyone could create fake scenarios on top of real imagery of monuments and landmarks.
Henk van Ess, an AI and misinformation expert based in Amsterdam, was scathing in his criticism of the company in a post on his Digital Digging website.
“Tonight I typed just one sentence into Google Earth and put refugees near the Mexican border,” he wrote. “Then I planted a nuclear plant in Iran. Then I put a fatal crash on a street in Amsterdam. Google’s own satellite imagery underneath all three. What on earth is Google doing?”
Less than 48 hours after announcing the feature, Google hit the pause button.
