Resistance is Futile: Embracing Artificial Intelligence

In MDM's July 31st webcast How Artificial Intelligence Disrupts Distribution: What You Must Know, Ian Heller, MDM President & COO, and Tony Corley, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Epicor, discussed one of the most pressing, and most complex, issues currently facing distributors: artificial intelligence, or AI. The actor Stephen Fry, during his time as host of the popular British quiz show "Q.I.", told a story about when motor cars were first introduced to Pennsylvania. A farmer's group, deeply resistant to the new-fangled, noisy machines, proposed state legislation to require cars travelling at night to send up a rocket every mile and then wait 10 minutes for the road to clear. If a team of horses approached, drivers would be required to stop, pull over, and cover the car with a blanket or dust cover painted to blend into the scenery. If the horses were unwilling to pass, drivers would be required to take the car apart and conceal the parts in the bushes.