Google rolls back the needless AI generation tools it added to Google Earth - Engadget
The decision comes one day after people used the tool to generate misleading satellite imagery.
Google is rolling back Nano Banana image generation inside of Google Earth less a day after announcing the integration on July 30. "We know that people uniquely trust Google Earth for a reliable view of the world. 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 wrote in a statement it shared on X.
AI Startup Flapping Airplanes Is In Talks To Raise Funding At A $5 Billion Valuation
The data efficiency startup is researching a better way to train AI models using less data. getty
Flapping Airplanes, a research-focused startup that’s trying to find ways to use less data to train AI models, is in talks to raise capital at a $5 billion valuation, multiple sources familiar with the deal told Forbes. VC firms Index Ventures and Lux Capital are leading the round and Kleiner Perkins is participating, the sources said. The raise is in the hundreds of millions, they added.
Obsession Star Inde Navarrette Names Mystique as the Character She Wants to Play if Marvel Casts Her in the X-Men Movie
Updated
: Jul 31, 2026 10:04pm UTC
Obsession star Inde Navarrette has named Mystique as the character she wants to play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) following talks with X-Men director Jake Schreier.
The Rivian R2 Has Plenty of Curb Appeal. We Test It to See Whether It's as Good as It Looks.
From the September/October 2026 issue of Car and Driver.
If the sophomore slump weren't a real thing, one-hit wonders wouldn't exist. Brits call it second-season syndrome, owing to a football, er, soccer team's all but inevitable struggle after moving up to the Premier League. In the automotive world, second cars are a bigger challenge than the first. Doubling your product line effectively doubles the strain on capital, development costs, the number of parts, and potential problems. That's two times the supplier contracts, the tooling, and migraines.
Ask Agentic Software Vendors These Questions Before Buying
What's the difference between software that has AI features, a chatbot, and agentic AI? getty
Every software vendor now calls its product “agentic.” The label is cheap to add and hard to verify, which is exactly why it has spread faster than the underlying capability.
Investors may want to focus on front end of yield curve — as Street anticipates next Fed meetings
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Bond market investors may want to shift their focus toward the front of the yield curve, according to Allspring Global Investments' Noah Wise.
Mathematical model devised to protect bacteriophages without hindering their action
A study by researchers in the UAB Department of Mathematics and the Center for Mathematical Research (CRM) presents a model describing the behavior of encapsulated bacteriophages within the gastrointestinal tract. Its objective is to better understand the advantages and limitations of encapsulation and determine under what conditions this strategy can contribute to improving treatment efficacy.
Ram Is Recalling More than 1.2 Million of Its 1500 Pickups Because of a Seatbelt Buckle Issue
- Ram announced that it will perform a voluntary recall of nearly 1.3 million pickup trucks due to potentially dangerous second-row seatbelt buckles.
- According to the automaker, the center and driver-side seats in the second row may have been produced with seatbelt anchors that were not properly attached to the vehicle structure.
- The recall covers 1,271,294 trucks, with the affected models ranging from the 2019–2026 model years.
Ram announced that it will perform a voluntary recall of 1,271,294 trucks that could have been produced with dangerous seatbelt buckle anchors. According to an announcement made by the automaker, some Ram 1500 pickups from the 2019–2026 model years are included in the recall. Outside of the U.S., the recall extends to cover another estimated 156,138 vehicles in Canada and an estimated 74,084 vehicles in Mexico.
Why is gaining citizen support for climate policies so difficult?
A study led by Marc Guinjoan, a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the UAB, with researchers Toni Rodon of the UPF and Joel Ardiaca of the UB, reveals that citizen support for climate policies depends largely on how the costs, benefits and redistributive effects are communicated. The research, published in the journal West European Politics and based on two experiments using representative samples of the Spanish population, explains why specific climate measures face backlash despite widespread public acceptance of the need to fight climate change.
As ‘Civilization’ Turns 35, Creator Sid Meier and Firaxis President Look Ahead to a New Ages for 2K Studio’s Franchises
Sid Meier‘s four-year-old grandson has a new favorite song and it’s one that is near and dear to fans of the legendary video game developer’s “Civilization” franchise.
“He is singing ‘Baba Yetu’ day and night. It’s like insane,” Meier tells Variety, noting the preschooler hasn’t actually played the turn-based strategy his grandfather is famous for, but is very familiar with its theme song. “I’m getting these videos of him singing ‘Baba Yetu’ along with the recording.”