In 2003, James Howells, a computer engineer, was cleaning his office and accidentally dropped an old laptop that contained 8,000 bitcoins on its hard drive. Today, with the strengthening of bitcoin, the money he has thrown away reaches the figure of 181 million euros.
James believes the laptop is in a landfill in Newport, Wales, and he aims to use artificial intelligence (AI) to search through the thousands of tonnes of waste in the landfill.
He was previously denied a request to visit the country due to environmental concerns, but he has created a high-tech scheme.
His new proposal would use artificial intelligence technology to operate a mechanical arm that would filter debris. According to the plans, it will hire a number of environmental and data recovery experts.
While the search continues, James will also "employ" robot dogs as security, so that no one else can try to steal the hard drive. Robot dogs are robots designed to resemble dogs in appearance and behavior, usually including canine characteristics such as barking or wagging their tails.
James told the Guardian: “Digging a landfill is a major operation in itself. Funding has been secured. We've brought in an artificial intelligence specialist.”
He believes that the search will take about nine to 12 months, however, even if he gets permission, there is no guarantee that the "hunt" will be successful or that the bitcoins will be recovered from the hard drive.
