No, AI agents did not discover a previously unknown Maya site
| Image: Pietro Miotti Armed with a team of AI agents, Google researcher Pietro Miotti claimed earlier this week to have discovered a potentially unmapped Maya site in Mexico.
- The incident, which sparked criticism among archeologists online, underscores a growing tension in science as amateurs wielding increasingly powerful AI tools parachute into specialist fields, often without the expertise needed to understand what they are looking at.
- 'DAMN!' They had found lots of villages and other regular shapes that looked like structures or houses,“ Pietro Miotti wrote on his blog.
- Miotti said the idea to use AI to sea … Read the full story at The Verge.
Pietro Miotti " data-portal-copyright="Image: Pietro Miotti " data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/maya-sites.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" /> “I woke up and checked the agents' reports.
There was just one problem: The site had already been discovered and was published in an academic journal last year.
- Local communities are often already well aware of sites in their area.
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