Artificial Intelligence1 min read

Google SWE points 48 AI agents at NASA Lidar, finds unmapped Maya pyramid in 72h

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The project was initiated by an engineer inspired during travels in Peru, who utilized 48 AI agents from tools like Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok to analyze public NASA lidar strips. Rather than using specialized classifiers, the agents examined the imagery to detect human-made structures, platforms, and plazas hidden by dense forest canopies. The detected cliffside settlement includes a leveled plaza, three platforms, an attached raised courtyard, a suspected water reservoir, and an oval pyramid estimated at 8 to 12 meters tall. An AI-compiled report was submitted to Mexican authorities, who noted the location holds no prior archaeological documentation.

Key points

  • Commercial AI agents can effectively process complex raw lidar imagery to detect hidden a…: Commercial AI agents can effectively process complex raw lidar imagery to detect hidden ancient ruins without specialized classification models.
  • The newly detected site shows architectural traits of a Classic period civic center datin…: The newly detected site shows architectural traits of a Classic period civic center dating between roughly AD 250 and 900.
  • Official institutional records validate that the identified structure was entirely unmapp…: Official institutional records validate that the identified structure was entirely unmapped prior to the automated 72-hour scan.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

My AI Agents Found an Unmapped Maya Site

By analyzing NASA lidar data, my AI agents discovered a Maya site in Mexico that, as far as anyone can tell, no one had reported before. It took less than 72 hours to go from a random thought while traveling to an official reply from the Mexican government. This is by far the best time ever to be alive.

Disclaimer: I'm not an archaeologist.

I'm going to tell this story as a diary, because the timeline is probably the best part.

18 October

I was traveling in Peru, Gemini-ing about the history of the place, when I learned about Hiram Bingham, the American explorer who "discovered" Machu Picchu in 1911. "What luck!" I thought. He was actually looking for a different city, Vilcabamba, the last refuge of the Incas, when a local farmer in the valley below guided him to the ruins. "Imagine if Bingham had our tools," I thought. "What would he do?"

I brainstormed a bit with a few agents (Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude and Grok), and they all said lidar.…

Artificial Intelligence