Breaking: Google Earth urgently rolls back Nano Banana 2 image generation feature - 36Kr

Google integrated its image model Nano Banana 2 into the Google Earth web version, enabling historical reconstructions, infographics, and city makeover visuals based on satellite and terrain data.

The feature was quickly misused after launch, sparking controversy and raising concerns about how realistic the outputs were.

Google then abruptly pulled the feature and said it would strengthen safeguards before re-releasing it.

The episode highlights both the promise of generative AI in geospatial use cases and the tension between spatial accuracy, safety, and practicality.