Google yanks satellite image editor after deepfake outcry
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Google removed an AI-powered image generation tool from its Google Earth program, after open-source-intelligence geeks, media-literacy experts and journalists sounded the alarm on potential abuses.
The big picture: Google Earth has long been used to monitor situations near and far, as well as geolocate imagery and debunk suspect footage.
What they're saying: Google is "rolling back" the Nano Banana integration while it works "on implementing stronger guardrails."
- "It's important to note that generated images didn't appear in the main Google Earth experience for others to see and were watermarked as AI generated," the company said in a statement.
Yes, but: Others warned of the damage already done.
- The integration did "immediate, catastrophic damage to the credibility of satellite imagery," OSINTtechnical, an account on X with nearly 2 million followers, said in a post.
- "What could possibly go wrong?" Hans Kristensen, a nuclear-security expert at the Federation of American Scientists, said in a separate post.
My thought bubble: I manifested missile sites in Iran and cratered an American air base with just a few words — and all for free. Others put whales offshore, burned buildings and flooded the Capitol.
Go deeper: U.S. and China could agree on AI guidelines, says Hicks
