<p>Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces operating at microwave frequencies are of potential use in the development of the sixth generation of wireless communications technology. Such surfaces could, in particular, be used to reprogram the wireless propagation channels in controlled ways and thus provide low-cost wireless capacity boosting, coverage extension and enhanced energy efficiency. To reprogram the channel, each meta-atom of the reconfigurable intelligent surface needs to receive an external control signal, which is usually generated by a base station. However, this requires complicated control cables, which restricts wide deployment. Here we report a self-controlled reconfigurable intelligent surface that is inspired by optical holography. Each meta-atom of the reconfigurable intelligent surface is integrated with a power detector that can record a hologram created from simultaneous microwave illumination from the base station and the user. We use classical Fourier transform to process the measured hologram and retrieve the angular position of the user, which is required for beamforming. As a result, the approach can provide autonomous reconfigurable intelligent surface beamforming without control cables.</p>