No, AI agents did not discover a previously unknown Maya site

“I woke up and checked the agents' reports. 'DAMN!' They had found lots of villages and other regular shapes that looked like structures or houses,“ Pietro Miotti wrote on his blog. | 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. There was just one problem: The site had already been discovered and was published in an academic journal last year. 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.

Local communities are often already well aware of sites in their area.

Miotti said the idea to use AI to sea …

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