\n<\/p>\n
For two decades, Google Earth has been viewed as a standard reference for verifying what a location looks like. It has also been a reliable tool used by investigators worldwide, such as in conflict reporting in Ukraine and in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
In recent times, Google Earth imagery has also been the subject of AI manipulation, with significant consequences. In February, an Iranian state-run news outlet posted a \u201cbefore-and-after\u201d Google Earth satellite image claiming an Iranian drone strike had destroyed US radar equipment at a Qatar base. But this was eventually proven to be an AI-manipulated version of a Google Earth image of a US base in Bahrain. By then, the image had drawn millions of views and spread across social media globally.<\/p>\n
It was the use of genuine Google Earth imagery which gave the fake image more credibility \u2013 and experts noted that if an AI-generation tool were to be baked into the Google Earth interface natively, such attempts at disinformation would no longer require as much effort.<\/p>\n
Apart from van Ess, whose views have been widely echoed online, others called the move \u201cirresponsible\u201d and potentially causing \u201ccatastrophic damage to the credibility of satellite imagery\u201d.<\/p>\n
On LinkedIn, before the feature was pulled, open-source investigator and AI specialist Tom Jarvis from the non-profit Centre for Information Resilience wrote: “Google has made a feature that turns the tables for the worse. Those who could be held accountable by a satellite image can now more easily disrupt information spaces with the same tool.”<\/p>\n
Mr Benjamin Ang, who heads the centre of excellence for national security at Singapore’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) think-tank, told CNA: “Research shows that for decades, human beings have been used to viewing satellite images as more believable than photos taken from ground level, because they appear to come from an objective angle, and because they were harder to tamper with.”<\/p>\n
“In the past, making fake satellite images in a convincing way needed a relatively high level of resources, technology, and skill, but now practically anyone can create fakes that cause panic or outrage or deceive the recipient,” he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An earlier Google statement had attempted to defend the feature by noting that every image created with Nano Banana in Google Earth included the SynthID digital watermark \u2013 a Google-made tool that helps people identify AI-generated content.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if someone is unsure about an image, they can ask the Gemini app or use Lens in Search to see if the image was AI-generated. In addition, we prevent image creation on harmful topics and are continually updating our protections,\u201d the post said then.<\/p>\n
Mr Ang noted however that once an image “enters your average family chat or friends chat group on WhatsApp, Telegram or WeChat, practically no one is going to go through the inconvenience of uploading the image to a verification portal … before they forward it to others”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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