Google nixes its Earth AI feature one day after launch, amid criticism it would spread misinformation

谷歌在推出一天后取消了其地球 AI 功能，此前该功能因可能传播虚假信息而受到批评

Google rolled out a new feature on Thursday that allowed users to deploy Nano Banana 2, its AI image generator, to create fabricated images inside its satellite imagery mapping app Google Earth. The whole point of this feature, Google said, was to get creative with geography. 谷歌周四推出了一项新功能，允许用户在其卫星地图应用 Google Earth 中使用其 AI 图像生成器 Nano Banana 2 来创建虚构图像。谷歌表示，该功能的初衷是让用户在地理创作上发挥创意。

But critics quickly pointed out that the tool could be used to create and spread misinformation. The tool, which was prompt-based and allowed pretty much any image to be superimposed over real maps, seemed like a recipe for a deluge of geospatial slop. 但批评人士很快指出，该工具可能会被用于制造和传播虚假信息。该工具基于提示词（prompt）运行，几乎允许将任何图像叠加在真实地图上，这看起来极易导致地理空间垃圾信息的泛滥。

“There’s no way that this new AI image generation feature on Google Earth, one of the most reliable sources of visual evidence for journalists and researchers, could possibly be abused to spread misinformation online,” a BBC journalist posted sarcastically Thursday. “Google Earth 是记者和研究人员获取视觉证据最可靠的来源之一，这个新的 AI 图像生成功能绝不可能被滥用来在网上散布虚假信息，”一位 BBC 记者周四讽刺地写道。

Now, only a day after the feature’s release, Google has scrapped it. “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 in a statement. “We’re rolling back this feature in Google Earth while we work on implementing stronger guardrails,” Google added. 现在，在该功能发布仅一天后，谷歌就将其撤销了。谷歌在一份声明中表示：“我们看到地理空间专业人士将此功能用于各种有益目的，但我们也看到有人分享了似乎违反我们政策的生成图像截图。”谷歌补充道：“我们正在撤回 Google Earth 中的这一功能，同时致力于实施更强有力的防护措施。”

The criticism of Google’s tool is understandable, although it’s worth pointing out that, in the age of AI, most imagery that exists on the web can be easily manipulated. You don’t have to be a Photoshop whiz anymore to create semi-credible disinformation; you just need access to an AI image generator, which Google sells, as do many other AI firms. 对谷歌这一工具的批评是可以理解的，尽管值得指出的是，在 AI 时代，网络上存在的大多数图像都可以被轻易篡改。你不再需要成为 Photoshop 高手就能制造出半真半假的虚假信息；你只需要使用 AI 图像生成器即可，而谷歌以及许多其他 AI 公司都在销售此类产品。