Google rolls back satellite image AI tools within a day of launch

Within a day of launching a new feature that allowed users to create AI-generated satellite images, Google rolled back the step. The feature allowed users to generate AI images with a single click on its Google Earth platform. The decision followed concerns from researchers and open-source intelligence experts regarding potential disinformation risks. The feature was integrated into Google’s Nano Banana 2 image-generation technology. This allowed users to zoom into locations and build images in seconds based on Google Earth satellite, aerial and 3D-mapping data.

In its announcements, the technology company said it was designed to work with users’ imagination. “Just zoom in to a place in Google Earth on web (sic), tap ‘create image,’ and type whatever you want to see,” After rolling back the decision, Google stated, “We know that people uniquely trust Google Earth for a reliable view of the world.”

Google also mentioned in the statement that while they saw geospatial professionals using this feature for many useful purposes, they also saw people sharing screenshots of generated imagery that appeared to violate their policies. Taking this into consideration, Google rolled back this feature in Google Earth. Their team is also working to implement stronger guardrails for the feature. 

It is also important to note that generated images did not appear in the main Google Earth experience for others to see and were watermarked as AI generated.