Google has abruptly shut down its artificial intelligence (AI) feature in Google Earth just hours after launch. The American technology company was forced to put a stop to the feature after users began creating fake satellite images of real-world locations, raising concerns over misinformation and abuse.
The tech giant announced the rollback just hours after the feature’s global debut. In a statement issued on July 31, Google said it had seen people generating images that appeared to violate its policies.
“We’ve seen geospatial professionals using this feature for a range of useful purposes, however we’ve also seen people sharing screenshots of generated imagery that appear to violate our policies,” the company said.
Google added that it was removing the feature from Google Earth while it works on implementing stronger safeguards.
The AI-powered tool, announced a day earlier, allowed users to generate custom images using Google Earth’s satellite, aerial and 3D imagery by simply typing a prompt. Google had promoted it as a useful feature for education, urban planning and real estate presentations.
However, experts quickly warned that the technology could be exploited to create convincing fake satellite images of major events.
Washington Post visual forensics reporter Evan Hill described the potential for misuse as “literally boundless.”
Google stressed that the generated images were never visible to other users in the main Google Earth experience and were clearly watermarked as AI-generated.
The company has not announced when, or if, the feature will return.
