Adding an AI tool to Google Earth shook our trust in maps that has been centuries in the making
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Europe's cartographers traded on their reputation for accuracy and detail at a time of huge societal change. But as demand grew for increasingly detailed maps of the world to support industrialization at home and colonization overseas, they didn't always get it right.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, European cartographers gained a reputation for accuracy and detail as demand for detailed maps surged due to industrialization and colonization. However, this trust was shaken when mapmaker Mungo Park described the Mountains of Kong in Africa, which turned out not to exist. Despite this, the map remained in use for nearly 50 years.
In 1785, a court upheld the principle that mapmakers could be sued for copyright infringement if their work was not an improvement over existing ones, a ruling that has been cited in recent debates about AI-generated maps. Google recently added generative AI to its Google Earth platform, allowing users to create convincing but potentially false satellite images.
This sparked outrage among fact-checkers and journalists who rely on accurate satellite imagery for their work. Within 24 hours, Google rolled back the tool, Nano Banana 2, and promised stronger safeguards. The controversy highlights the deep level of trust placed in Google Earth, a technology that has only been around for two decades since its relaunch in 2005.
The recent AI addition threatens to undermine the trust that has taken centuries to build, as the tool can generate convincing but fake images that can be difficult to distinguish from genuine satellite imagery.
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