In the future that awaits us, every object will be equipped with artificial intelligence. From the simplest light bulb to the most complex spacecraft, AI will become an integral part of physical reality. And the question is: will we be the ones to control it?
It is no longer science fiction: AI will be everywhere
During the speech at AI Week, a clear, powerful, almost poetic vision emerged:
“Every element of the universe – from a human hair to a spaceship – will have a portion of artificial intelligence within it.”
It is not a provocation, but a realistic projection.
The AI is becoming increasingly lightweight, integrable, scalable. The advent of compact models, embedded AI chips, local neural networks, makes real-time intelligence possible on any connected object.
The revolution that awaits us does not concern only supercomputers or chatbots, but every tool of daily life: light bulbs, mirrors, refrigerators, shoes, windows, sensors, fabrics, vehicles, drones, satellites.
From hardware to environmental intelligence
Until yesterday the concept was “smart device.” Today we talk about ambient intelligence.
What does it mean?
Objects that perceive, decide, adapt their own behavior
Systems that collaborate with each other to optimize energy, comfort, security
Devices that learn without internet connection, locally, autonomously
It is no longer a matter of having “an AI in the cloud,” but of having AI widespread, distributed in the very fabric of reality.
An example?
A light bulb that knows what the ideal light is based on your mood.
A refrigerator that understands your biological rhythms.
A spaceship in which every component diagnoses itself and communicates to the others what to modify.
Intelligence everywhere ≠ control everywhere
The real problem is not the spread of intelligence.
It is who controls it.
In the current model, each embedded AI is connected to a centralized ecosystem: Google Home, Alexa, Apple, Samsung.
This means that even the most trivial daily actions – turning on a light, monitoring sleep – go through a remote server.
Now imagine this scenario on a planetary scale, with billions of intelligent objects controlled by 3 or 4 companies.
It is the prelude to a total and invisible dependency, embedded in our life.
The alternative vision: distributed, autonomous, pervasive AI
The QVAC project, which emerged during the same event, offers a concrete response to this dystopian vision.
QVAC wants to make possible a world in which every object is intelligent, but also autonomous, that is:
Not connected to a data center
Not subject to censorship
Not traceable by third parties
Thanks to a peer-to-peer infrastructure, inspired by BitTorrent and blockchain, and an open source SDK capable of running on any hardware (even a 30€ smartphone), it is possible to create a universe in which every AI is sovereign.
An ecosystem in which AIs are small, modular, distributed, but capable of cooperating with each other intelligently.
Will AI be the new “ether”?
In the past, it was thought that l’etere was the invisible substance that filled the universe.
Today, we might say that l’AI sarà il nuovo etere: invisible but present everywhere. Not only in devices, but in materials, in interactions, in infrastructures.
If designed in a distributed and transparent manner, this environmental AI can:
Optimize global energy Increase public safety Reconfigure cities and transportation Improve human well-being
But if left in the hands of a few, it can become a system of widespread, predictive, irreversible surveillance.
Conclusion: an intelligent universe needs free minds
The idea that everything becomes intelligent is neither utopian nor dystopian in itself.
It depends on how it will be implemented. And on who will have control over it.
If AI will be incorporated into everything, then decentralization is no longer an option, but an existential necessity.
Do we want a world in which every object is intelligent?
Then let’s ensure that intelligence belongs to human beings.