Google Earth risked ruin with retracted AI tool for making fake satellite pics
Ars Technica AI · Jeremy Hsu · 2026-07-31
Google launched and then quickly retracted an AI image generation feature in Google Earth that let users create AI-modified versions of real satellite imagery after public backlash over its potential for disinformation.
Extraction
Topics: ai-image-generationgeospatial-aidisinformationgoogle
Claims
- Google briefly enabled a feature in Google Earth that allowed anyone to generate AI-modified versions of real satellite and aerial imagery using its Nano Banana 2 model.
- Google retracted the feature after public sharing of examples demonstrated clear potential for disinformation and misinformation.
- The feature was notable because it grounded generated images in authentic real-world Google Earth imagery, making fabricated images more convincing than existing generative tools.
- Google had actively promoted the feature as a positive capability in an official blog post before reversing course.
Key quotes
For the first time, you can generate custom images using Google Earth's satellite, aerial, and 3D imagery alongside Nano Banana, which creates concepts grounded in the real world.
Google's aborted attempt to incorporate its Nano Banana 2 AI image generator as a Google Earth feature made it even easier for anyone to create modified versions of authentic imagery depicting real locations.