Two Versions of Same Photo Spark Online Alarm: 'It I...

By Marni Rose McFall

News Reporter

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Google’s new Nano Banana Pro is making waves online, and people are declaring the end of traditional photography.

It may be time to say goodbye to photography as you know it. At least, that’s the consensus on social media, after a post went viral comparing and contrasting two photographs.

The first was made using Google’s Nano Banana, while the second was made using Google’s new Nano Banana Pro. The new AI image is so realistic, people are calling this an end to conventional photos, with one social media user writing, “It is so over.”

Newsweek has contacted Google via email for comment.

Why It Matters

AI-generated images are already prolific online, but the technology behind them is quickly becoming more sophisticated. And people were already struggling to differentiate between real and AI-generated images. A 2023 study from the University of Waterloo found that only 61 percent of people were able to correctly identify AI-generated images, which was below the anticipated 85 percent.

As the AI revolution continues, the technology is rapidly changing the way our world looks and could be set to forever alter the way we engage with different kinds of media, like music and photography.

What To Know

Content creator @immasiddx shared a post on X that features two images made using the new and old Nano Banana.

The first has the classic feel we’ve come to associate with AI—sheeny, airbrushed and clearly AI-generated.

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The latter looks like it could have been taken from any young girl's Instagram. The texture and tone of the image look real, and it seems nearly impossible for a blind eye to tell the difference between that and a real image.

The post from @immasiddx has been viewed 56 million times on X as of reporting. He wrote in a follow-up to the original post viewed another 500,000 times, “It is so over.”

The social media user @heyshihab meanwhile, wrote in a post viewed over 500,000 times, “Brooo, we won’t even be able to tell if it’s real picture of someone or not in the future crazyy.”

Many social media users pointed out the existence of technology that can assess whether an image is AI-generated, which could go on to become ubiquitous. But the mood of shock online prevails, as people adjust to the idea of this kind of powerful AI technology.

In a press release, Google said of the new technology, "Today, we’re introducing Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image), our new state-of-the art image generation and editing model. Built on Gemini 3 Pro, Nano Banana Pro uses Gemini’s state-of-the-art reasoning and real-world knowledge to visualize information better than ever before."

Is There a Free Trial for Nano Banana Pro?

For people wondering if there is a free trial for the Nano Banana Pro, there is some free access available. A small number of images can be generated through the Gemini app for free, but people will ultimately have to pay after using the free tries.

What People Are Saying

Maalvika Bhat, a podcaster in an Instagram reel viewed over 800,000 times: “The age of photographic evidence is over. Images are no longer witnesses and now they are mere hypothesis.”

@AlexanderPayton, in a post on X viewed over 2.4 million times: “And just like that, the age of photographic evidence is over. 1826-2025. Update your epistemology accordingly.”

Lauren Lee Smith, an author, in a post on X: “These images are always hot women. The scammers want to take one of the few advantages women have over them (in their eyes this is objectified youth, beauty, sex appeal) and use it for their own malevolent ends…. It is the piracy of humanity itself.”