Google Fusion Tables shut down AI-researched
Dependency: Google Fusion Tables data visualization service Wikipedia
Google Fusion Tables, a free hosted service for data visualization and map overlays widely used in data-driven net art, was shut down on December 3, 2019.
Google Fusion Tables launched in 2009 as a free tool for uploading, visualizing, and sharing structured data — especially geospatial data rendered as map overlays. Artists and data-visualization practitioners used it to create embeddable, interactive map-based artworks and data explorations without needing their own server infrastructure.
What changed
Google announced in December 2018 that Fusion Tables would be shut down by December 3, 2019. All tables, embedded visualizations, and API endpoints stopped working on that date. Artworks that embedded Fusion Tables map layers or queried its API for live data rendering went dark. Google suggested migrating to BigQuery or Google Sheets, but neither offered the same zero-config map visualization capability.
Notes
Fusion Tables was particularly popular for locative and cartographic net art because it combined free data hosting with automatic map rendering via the Google Maps layer system. Works that relied on Fusion Tables embeds display broken iframes or blank map layers. The data itself could be exported before the deadline, but the rendering context — the visual presentation layer that made the data into art — was not portable.