Google Suspends Google Earth AI Feature After Misuse

Google suspended its Nano Banana 2 generative AI feature in Google Earth less than a day after its release. The tool was designed to allow users to overlay AI-generated scenes onto real satellite and 3D imagery for urban planning and historical reconstruction.

Users quickly abused the system to create fabricated images of nuclear plants in Iran, conflict scenes, and refugees at the U.S.-Mexico border. Critics warned that these fabrications could fuel disinformation and undermine the reliability of satellite imagery used to document human rights abuses.

Google stated that the generated images were watermarked using SynthID and did not appear in the main experience for other users. The company is rolling back the feature to implement stronger guardrails after acknowledging that some of the generated imagery violated company policies.