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

Google researcher Pietro Miotti claimed that a team of 48 AI agents, using NASA lidar data, discovered a previously unknown Maya site in Mexico. However, archaeologists quickly pointed out that the site had already been documented in an academic journal over a year earlier. Miotti, who emphasized he is not an archaeologist and that the finding would need fieldwork verification, had contacted Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and was told the site was not registered. Experts criticized the claim, noting that INAH's lack of records doesn't mean the site is unknown, and that local communities often know such sites. They stressed that AI tools, while useful, cannot replace expert knowledge and peer review, and that amateurs using AI risk spreading misinformation and burdening archaeologists with false claims. The incident underscores growing tensions as powerful AI tools enable non-experts to enter specialized fields without understanding the context or existing research.

(Source：The Verge)