docs/idea.md

Idea #1 — HearthNet
Imagine the internet connection in your neighborhood goes down.

No ChatGPT. No cloud AI. No marketplace. No messaging. No shared knowledge.

HearthNet is a local-first AI mesh network that turns existing devices into a community AI cooperative. Gaming PCs, old laptops, Raspberry Pis — every node contributes capabilities.

The system automatically discovers nearby nodes and routes requests to the best available machine. One node might run LLM inference, another store documents, another host vector indexes or relay messages.

When the internet is available, HearthNet federates with cloud services. When it isn't, the network continues operating locally.

For the hackathon, I'd like to demonstrate:

Multiple real nodes working together
LLM request routing
Local RAG over emergency/community documents
Local chat and marketplace
Live WAN failover by unplugging the internet connection

Long-term vision: resilient community-owned AI infrastructure.