inital commit - the idea

idea.md

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+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.