Google researcher Pietro Miotti used a team of 48 AI agents to scan NASA lidar data for unknown Maya sites. He announced a “major village” that he said was not in any registry. Archaeologists pointed out the site had been described in a peer‑reviewed paper last year. Miotti acknowledged the mistake and said the episode shows AI tools still need expert guidance.
Why it matters
It shows that without specialist knowledge, AI can repeat known findings, so archaeologists must still verify AI‑generated leads.
