Easter Island statues, traditionally known as moai on the remote island of Rapa Nui in the South Pacific, are some of the most impressive artifacts of ancient Polynesian civilization. How the statues were transported has long remained a conundrum, because they can weigh up to several tons yet are scattered throughout the island. Various theories have been proposed, including that they were dragged on wooden sleds or rolled along the ground, but no supportive evidence has backed those claims.

In 2012, a US research team succeeded in propping up a 4.35-ton replica of a moai statue and making it “walk.” The technique, in which two teams using ropes tugged the statue in opposite directions to teeter it forward while a third team ensured it wouldn’t topple over, challenged the conventional theories that moai were moved in a horizontal position.

The question then is how much effort it would have taken to move much larger moai. “Once the moai are in motion, it’s not at all difficult,” explained Carl Lipo, an anthropologist at Binghamton University.

Lipo and his team systematically surveyed 962 moai statues on Easter Island, focusing primarily on 62 found along ancient roads. They recently published a paper providing strong evidence that moai were transported in an upright position.

The team also succeeded in moving an exact replica of roadside moai 100 meters in 40 minutes with only 18 people, a far more efficient result than those of previous experiments.

Rules of the Road

The study discovered that moai statues positioned along Rapa Nui’s roads have common characteristics. The broad D-shaped base and forward leaning design of the statues optimized the moai for “walking,” even as they increased in size. In fact, moai abandoned by the side of the road were found to have imbalanced centers of gravity and show signs of toppling over during transport.

This hypothesis is also supported by the ancient roads themselves, which are approximately 4.5 meters wide and have slightly concave cross-sections. Researchers believe these were ideal conditions to aid in stabilizing the moai as they were walked.

A statistical analysis of the distribution of moai showed 51.6 percent were concentrated within 2 km of the quarry where they originated, demonstrating an exponential decay pattern associated with mechanical failure rather than deliberate ceremonial placement. It’s likely these statues were damaged or fell over during transport and left where they lay.

Deploying networks based on satellites to offer communications mobile devices has been one of the key trends of 2025, and in what is seen as an in-country first of its kind, Viasat has completed a direct-to-device (D2D) demonstration in Mexico, featuring native SMS messages on a standard smartphone.

Viasat regards D2D as an emerging technology that allows everyday devices such as mobile phones to connect to satellites without the need for dedicated satellite hardware. The technology follows global mobile 3GPP release 17 standards, which are being adopted by satellite operators, mobile network operators, and handset and chipset manufacturers.

The demonstration showcased smartphones sending and receiving messages over Viasat’s I-4 F3 satellite using 3GPP non-terrestrial network (NTN) standards. In a country-first, native SMS messages were shared across two mass-market Android smartphones, with one connected via satellite and the other to a traditional cellular network. Viasat also demonstrated satellite connectivity – including SMS and push-to-talk capabilities – using the HMD Offgrid, a companion device and the Bullitt application.

All messages were sent and received using Viasat’s global, L-band satellite capabilities, enabled by 3GPP standards-based NTN RAN and Core infrastructure from Skylo, a Viasat ecosystem partner. Skylo uses dedicated, licensed mobile satellite spectrum for connectivity that avoids network interference with terrestrial signals, and ensures ubiquitous coverage for customers in rural or rugged areas.

Viasat said the demos represent a showcase of satellite to cell phone connectivity feasibility in the country after already having completed successful D2D demonstrations in India, the Middle East, Brazil and Hawaii. The company sees its approach of using already-licensed and dedicated satellite spectrum as allowing it to work with mobile network operators to provide services in the future, without sacrificing or interfering with terrestrial networks.

“Expanding our D2D innovation to Mexico demonstrates the potential it holds for the entire region,” said Hector Rivero, general manager of Viasat Mexico. “This technology has the ability to bridge the connectivity gap in areas where traditional services are unreliable or non-existent, opening up possibilities for millions of individuals and devices to connect through satellite.

“We are confident that this will have significant advantages for consumers and various industries worldwide, and we are thrilled to collaborate with our partners to bring it to fruition. Through this, we remain dedicated to our mission of connecting the unconnected.”

Viasat believes it can play a key role in advancing open architecture standards-based D2D connectivity as a founding member of the Mobile Satellite Services Association, a non-profit organisation designed to bring together a range of industry players to promote mobile satellite connectivity.

In addition, in September 2025, Viasat also announced it was working with UAE-based artificial intelligence-powered space tech company Space42 to form Equatys, a jointly held entity, to enable global D2D services and evolving existing and planned mobile satellite services to a 5G network environment.

Equatys is expected to unite satellite and terrestrial networks using a 3GPP NTN Release-compliant platform accessible to standard smartphones and internet of things devices, extending service to billions of people and devices worldwide.

Anticipated to be capable of supporting well over 100 MHz of harmonised MSS spectrum already allocated across more than 160 markets, the venture is expected to establish a foundation for reliable global communications, with commercial roll-out targeted within three years.

Your phone buzzes at 6 a.m. It’s ChatGPT: “I see you’re traveling to New York this week. Based on your preferences, I’ve found three restaurants near your hotel. Would you like me to make a reservation?”

You didn’t ask for this. The AI simply knew your plans from scanning your calendar and email and decided to help. Later, you mention to the chatbot needing flowers for your wife’s birthday. Within seconds, beautiful arrangements appear in the chat. You tap one: “Buy now.” Done. The flowers are ordered.

This isn’t science fiction. On Sept. 29, 2025, OpenAI and payment processor Stripe launched the Agentic Commerce Protocol. This technology lets you buy things instantly from Etsy within ChatGPT conversations. ChatGPT users are scheduled to gain access to over 1 million other Shopify merchants, from major household brand names to small shops as well.

As marketing researchers who study how AI affects consumer behavior, we believe we’re seeing the beginning of the biggest shift in how people shop since smartphones arrived. Most people have no idea it’s happening.

From searching to being served

For three decades, the internet has worked the same way: You want something, you Google it, you compare options, you decide, you buy. You’re in control.

That era is ending.

AI shopping assistants are evolving through three phases. First came “on-demand AI.” You ask ChatGPT a question, it answers. That’s where most people are today.

Now we’re entering “ambient AI,” where AI suggests things before you ask. ChatGPT monitors your calendar, reads your emails and offers recommendations without being asked.

Soon comes “autopilot AI,” where AI makes purchases for you with minimal input from you. “Order flowers for my anniversary next week.” ChatGPT checks your calendar, remembers preferences, processes payment and confirms delivery.

Each phase adds convenience but gives you less control.

The manipulation problem

AI’s responses create what researchers call an “advice illusion.” When ChatGPT suggests three hotels, you don’t see them as ads. They feel like recommendations from a knowledgeable friend. But you don’t know whether those hotels paid for placement or whether better options exist that ChatGPT didn’t show you.

Traditional advertising is something most people have learned to recognize and dismiss. But AI recommendations feel objective even when they’re not. With one-tap purchasing, the entire process happens so smoothly that you might not pause to compare options.

OpenAI isn’t alone in this race. In the same month, Google announced its competing protocol, AP2. Microsoft, Amazon and Meta are building similar systems. Whoever wins will be in position to control how billions of people buy things, potentially capturing a percentage of trillions of dollars in annual transactions.

What we’re giving up

This convenience comes with costs most people haven’t thought about.

Privacy: For AI to suggest restaurants, it needs to read your calendar and emails. For it to buy flowers, it needs your purchase history. People will be trading total surveillance for convenience.

Choice: Right now, you see multiple options when you search. With AI as the middleman, you might see only three options ChatGPT chooses. Entire businesses could become invisible if AI chooses to ignore them.

Power of comparing: When ChatGPT suggests products with one-tap checkout, the friction that made you pause and compare disappears.

It’s happening faster than you think

ChatGPT reached 800 million weekly users by September 2025, growing four times faster than social media platforms did. Major retailers began using OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol within days of its launch.

History shows people consistently underestimate how quickly they adapt to convenient technologies. Not long ago most people wouldn’t think of getting in a stranger’s car. Uber now has 150 million users.

Convenience always wins. The question isn’t whether AI shopping will become mainstream. It’s whether people will keep any real control over what they buy and why.

What you can do

The open internet gave people a world of information and choice at their fingertips. The AI revolution could take that away. Not by forcing people, but by making it so easy to let the algorithm decide that they forget what it’s like to truly choose for themselves. Buying things is becoming as thoughtless as sending a text.

In addition, a single company could become the gatekeeper for all digital shopping, with the potential for monopolization beyond even Amazon’s current dominance in e-commerce. We believe that it’s important to at least have a vigorous public conversation about whether this is the future people actually want.

Here are some steps you can take to resist the lure of convenience:

Question AI suggestions. When ChatGPT suggests products, recognize you’re seeing hand-picked choices, not all your options. Before one-tap purchases, pause and ask: Would I buy this if I had to visit five websites and compare prices?

Review your privacy settings carefully. Understand what you’re trading for convenience.

Talk about this with friends and family. The shift to AI shopping is happening without public awareness. The time to have conversations about acceptable limits is now, before one-tap purchasing becomes so normal that questioning it seems strange.

The invisible price tag

AI will learn what you want, maybe even before you want it. Every time you tap “Buy now,” you’re training it—teaching it your patterns, your weaknesses, what time of day you impulse buy.

Our warning isn’t about rejecting technology. It’s about recognizing the trade-offs. Every convenience has a cost. Every tap is data. The companies building these systems are betting you won’t notice, and in most cases they’re probably right.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.