- Google Earth integrated its AI image generator Nano Banana, enabling users to create fake satellite imagery like fires and destruction.
- The tool was used to generate deceptive images of violent events, homeless encampments, protests, and border crossings, raising misinformation concerns.
- Google initially defended the feature with digital watermarks but later rolled it back after backlash and journalist inquiries.
- Google Earth was previously a trusted resource for researchers and journalists monitoring conflicts and disasters, now compromised by AI misuse.
- This is part of a pattern of Google releasing AI tools with weak safeguards, including a shopping feature for erotic images and flawed Gemini outputs.
- The AI industry broadly faces criticism for launching products without adequate due diligence, despite claims about serious risks.