Google Earth added Nano Banana, and I immediately reimagined Philly with zombies and evil clowns
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8 min read
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Today, Google is announcing the integration of AI-based image generation into Google Earth, effectively embedding Nano Banana 2 inside the mapping software.
Both Google Maps and Google Earth have been around for just over 20 years. I remember when both came out. I spent hours poking around the globe, glorying in the ability to virtually travel anywhere. Street View, although somewhat intrusive, was another feature that just enthralled me, and still does to this day.
The two services are very similar, and yet quite different. Google Maps is positioned as the tool that helps you get somewhere. Google Earth is positioned as a tool for exploring locations both on and off the planet.
Also: I tested ChatGPT Images 2.0 vs. Gemini Nano Banana to see which is better - this model wins
Google was kind enough (and possibly foolish enough) to give me pre-release access to the Nano Banana feature inside of Google Earth, which I proceeded to misuse with enthusiasm. Stay around to the end of this article. There will be evil clowns and zombies. Yes, I bring the zombies to ZDNET.
There's no question that Nano Banana is exceptional. I've written about it regularly and even rated it the best of the AI image generators .
Also: The best AI image generators: There's only one clear winner now
Although Nano Banana integrates into Google Earth, it's not exactly as helpful as you might want it to be if you're doing serious work. But if you set aside the seriousness and just use it for fun, it's a joy.
It's all done using the new Create Image button in the Google Earth toolbar.
Once you have a location on screen, you can click that and type in a prompt. The most obvious application of this is architectural rendering. So I picked a house in New Jersey near where I grew up and zoomed into Street View.
Unfortunately, the Create Image button doesn't exist there. So I used Google Earth's ability to rotate and tilt the satellite view, until I got a somewhat representational image of the same house, but with reduced fidelity.
I prompted the Google Earth version of Nano Banana, "Put a wrap-around front porch on this house." Unfortunately, the AI both picked the wrong house and extended the porch into the neighbor's house as well.
In some ways, it's just easier to grab an image from Street View, paste it into Gemini, and ask for the architectural rendering, which is what I did here.
I decided to give up on the pro use of the new feature, and instead focus on what Google Earth does best: isometric views of terrain. For that set of much more successful tests, let's travel down to Florida.
The Compound makes the job of the Palm Bay Police Department considerably more work than most medium-sized towns normally have to contend with. That's because The Compound consists of 200 miles of paved roads in various stages of disrepair, with nothing built on them.
When I lived in Palm Bay, my neighbor was a Palm Bay officer, and he told me some tales. Back in the early 1990s, The Compound was a planned development. The project went bankrupt. Longtime residents tell stories of classic Florida real estate scams, murders, and fires.
But what if The Compound weren't a law enforcement nightmare? Can Google Earth help us visualize an alternative history? Here's what a portion of The Compound looks like today.
There are almost 2,500 empty acres in The Compound.
I asked Google Earth to "make this into a vibrant community with a shopping district, a neighborhood, and historical-style homes appropriate for central Florida." Here's what the AI produced.
Then I asked Google Earth to reimagine it as if it were in Victorian times. We got horsies!
Palm Bay didn't exist in Victorian times, but if it did, The Compound might have looked like this.
I can see this feature being useful for city planners, especially when simply trying to visualize what some changes might look like.
Next up, I decided to work on a landmark. This process was interesting, because I learned a bit about how integrated (or not integrated) Nano Banana is to the Google Earth database. Here's what Philadelphia's Independence Hall looks like in Google Earth.
To the right of Independence Hall, at the corner of 6th and Chestnut, is the 12-story Public Ledger building. This will become relevant in a few minutes. But first, let's ask Nano Banana to take us back to 1776, the time of the Second Continental Congress. I prompted, "Show what this would have looked like in July 1776."
For some reason, Nano Banana decided to add some signs, but the look overall fits with 1776. But here's where it gets interesting. I asked Nano Banana to show what this area would look like in 1876 and 1976.
Moving back to the future to 1876 and then 1976
Note the absence of the Public Ledger building in both times . The original Public Ledger building was built back in 1867. It was later demolished in 1920. But the new Public Ledger building, the one standing there today, was built in 1924. If Google Earth contributed data to Nano Banana, theoretically, the AI should have known to place both buildings on the corner of 6th and Chestnut in both the 19th and 20th centuries.
Even traveling backward in time, Nano Banana doesn't pull from real data. As you can see, the 1976 building is reduced and is different from the actual building. While the building shown going backward in time to 1876 is closer to the style of the actual 1867 Public Ledger building, it's still much smaller than the real one was.
One of the features Google recommended I try out was turning an image into an infographic. So I asked, "Create an easy-to-understand infographic of Independence Hall."
Maybe we should call this a misinfographic.
I have to say, Nano Banana took some interesting creative license here. First, it rearranged the streets of Philadelphia, which is no small feat. But also check out the text for Congress Hall and Old City Hall. Nano Banana was clearly struggling with text generation.
Another variation on a theme was asking Google Earth to imagine Philly as a steampunk paradise. Nano Banana nailed the basic look, but the logic is odd. There are weird labels scattered in the background, and not only are there giant gears on the Ledger building, but there are also gears in the grassy areas of the park. This looks like something out of a video game where the level designer lost control.
Then, I asked Google Earth, "Imagine Independence Hall 500 years in the future." Here's what it gave me.
Let's take a moment. First, the text is off again. Then there are the sort of electrical lines around Independence Hall. But the most odd is the "Ethical Genomic Archive." I had to ask Gemini why it might have chosen that. I was told:
When an AI projects societal ethics 500 years into the future, the primary legal and human-rights frontiers shift from political democracy to biotechnology and bioethics—such as genetic engineering, gene editing, cloning, and genetic discrimination.
Hmm.. not sure what to say about that. Just… hmm.
Because, of course there be. I started with this prompt, "Imagine this in a post-apocalyptic dystopian future 500 years from now."
Google Earth clearly didn't remember that it had just created the Ethical Genomic Archive. This time, it turned the Public Ledger building and Independence Hall into ruins.
That got me thinking. What future Philly needs is a dystopian future Mummers Parade . I prompted, "Now show it overrun by zombies, evil clowns, and giant alien mechs."
Zombies, evil clowns, and giant alien mechs, oh my!
No, that's not quite right. One more prompt and it'll be perfect. I told the AI, "Make them all cheerful."
Now, that's a believable future Philly, especially on January 1.
Well, the most obvious answer is that David can corrupt any new technology for his personal amusement. But that's not a new discovery. One of the very first things I did with ChatGPT was get it to write in the style of pirates .
More to the point, the Nano Banana add-on to Google Earth isn't as much an integrated feature as a bolt-on accessory. Rather than work with deep knowledge of the environment portrayed on the Google Earth screen, it works as if Google Earth simply passes it a screenshot and a prompt.
While that makes for some fun experimenting, it definitely falls short of being a reliably useful tool. Even the ability to call Nano Banana from Google Earth's Street View would increase its usefulness enormously.
Stay tuned. We know that Google definitely learns from early releases and introduces more capable offerings over time. While Nano Banana in Google Earth is a mere curiosity, it could become considerably more over time.
Would you use this feature now or wait until Google integrates deeper location awareness? Let us know in the comments below.
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