Google Earth risked ruin with retracted AI tool for making fake satellite pics

Google briefly released a feature in Google Earth that let anyone create modified versions of real satellite imagery using AI—but quickly withdrew it after people began sharing examples that illustrated the potential for misinformation and disinformation. According to Ars Technica, the feature ran on Google's Nano Banana 2 image generator and was meant to let users generate custom images grounded in authentic satellite, aerial, and three-D imagery. The tool was retracted shortly after Google announced it.

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