Please be aware that these Generative AI tools contain functionality which allows the upload of pictures and files. It is the responsibility of the user not to upload content or enter prompts which may generate inappropriate or concerning text or imagery, or which contains any personal, sensitive or confidential information.
“Nano Banana” is the nickname for Google’s Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, a powerful AI-powered image generation and editing tool. It specialises in transforming photos into hyper-realistic 3D models, such as collectable figurines, or stylising them in various artistic and cinematic styles. The tool is known for its speed, accessibility, and ability to maintain a subject’s likeness across different edits and scenarios. Users interact with it through simple text prompts, making it easy for anyone to create professional-quality visuals without advanced technical skills.
In an educational setting, Nano Banana can be a useful tool for Educators to use themselves, or with a class by demonstrating the capabilities on a whiteboard.
Its capabilities can be leveraged to:
Enhance Learning Materials: The tool can generate custom visuals for lessons, such as creating diagrams for complex scientific concepts, illustrating historical figures in period clothing, and designing infographics to summarise large amounts of information. It’s also great at keeping a consistent character or look across multiple images.
Support Different Learning Styles: The tool’s versatility allows for the creation of visuals that appeal to various learning styles. This could involve generating realistic visuals for technical subjects, surreal imagery for abstract ideas, or engaging concept art for gamified learning.
While Nano Banana offers many benefits, it’s crucial to address its responsible use, especially in an educational environment.
Key considerations include:
Privacy and Data Security: Students and educators should be educated on the risks of uploading personal and sensitive images to AI platforms. They should understand that once an image is uploaded, they lose control over its use and how it might be stored or shared. Best practices include avoiding the use of private photos, photos that you do not have ownership of and stripping metadata before uploading. Information about regulatory compliance, such as GDPR, can be found here.
Intellectual Property and Copyright: Discussions should be held about the ethical implications of using AI to generate art. This includes understanding who owns the copyright to the generated images and the potential for the AI to learn from and replicate the styles of real artists without their consent.
Ethical Implications and Bias: It’s important to discuss how AI may include biases. Educators can use Nano Banana as a case study to explore how AI models might generate images that reflect or amplify stereotypes related to gender, race, or culture. This can lead to critical conversations about AI ethics and the importance of diverse datasets.
The Risk: While Nano Banana is currently used for creative and artistic purposes, the tool’s effectiveness in preserving facial features and other identifying characteristics raises concerns about the creation of deepfakes. Users must understand that AI should not be used for the creation of non-consensual deepfake images of individuals known to them, either personally or those within the public eye. There are safeguarding, legal, ethical and moral implications to generating AI deepfakes and all users should be aware of these.
Mitigation and Awareness: Google has implemented invisible digital watermarks (SynthID) on images created with Nano Banana to help identify them as AI-generated. However, experts caution that these watermarks are not a complete solution as they can be removed or tampered with. Therefore, digital literacy is paramount. Education must include teaching students and staff how to critically evaluate visual content they encounter online, how to spot potential deepfakes, and to be aware of the trade-off between creative ease and data security.
