I just read a blood-curdling article that was not intended for our industry. The story was not penned by one of our beloved industry writers or curators. It wasn't birthed by any resident bloviator or hired shrill.
By all accounts, the tome is innocuous, if not boring. There exists between the ink or pixels, an ominous report for those of us residing in the realm of fire and static, of paper and notions; "The End is Near."
Through the haze that is the fear of Covid, the desperation of supply chains, and the illumination of a purpose beyond the cubicle, copiers prevailed. Even with the fall of private equity, commercial real estate, and an unhealthy dose of self-loathing, dealers remained. They stood.
That was then, this is now.
No degree of strategy, tactics, or blind luck will save us now. Artificial intelligence will render the document's annihilation - and with it, an industry.
The title of a recent article,
"Microsoft’s new Copilot will change Office documents forever"
should scare the shit out of every single person in the Office Technology Realm. OEMs from NJ to Japan are quaking or swimming the sweet River of Bliss.
The Event Horizon is passed, Gravity has us all now. It's a matter of hours.
