Google Abandons AI Image Generator in Google Earth After Misinformation Backlash
Google faced swift backlash after introducing its AI image generator, Nano Banana, to Google Earth on Thursday. The feature allowed users to generate infographics and see historical images of a site, but it also made it easy to spread misinformation.
The company added that every image created with Nano Banana in Google Earth would include a digital watermark called SynthID, which could be checked by the Gemini app or Lens in Search. However, this was not enough to prevent users from sharing manipulated images that appeared to show protests at Google's offices or a nuclear strike.
On Friday afternoon, Google announced on X that it was removing the feature, citing concerns about people violating its policies with generated imagery. The company stated that it would work on implementing stronger guardrails before reintroducing the feature.