Will Sampson talks about the increasing use of artificial intelligence in general and in the woodworking industry in particular. His guest is Pavir Patel, CEO of a new ecommerce AI platform called Furniture Connect that helps furniture retailers launch more products faster and at less cost.
This episode of the Woodworking Network podcast was sponsored by FDMC magazine. FDMC magazine is your vital source of information to improve your woodworking business. Whether it is keeping you apprised of the latest advances in manufacturing, helping you solve your wood technology problems with Gene Wengert, or inspiring you with case histories about successful businesses and best practices, FDMC magazine is there to be the sharpest business tool in your shop. Learn more and subscribe for free at woodworkingnetwork.com/fdmc.
Woodworking Network is a home for professional woodworkers, presenting technology, supplies, education, inspiration, and community, from small business entrepreneurs to corporate managers at large automated plants.
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Intro music courtesy of Anthony Monson.
Intro:
Welcome to this episode of the Woodworking Network Podcast. Join us as we explore the business of woodworking big and small and what it takes to succeed. I’m Will Sampson.
Today’s episode is sponsored by FDMC magazine. Today our guest is Pavir Patel, CEO of a new ecommerce AI platform called Furniture Connect that helps furniture retailers launch more products. But first I want to talk about:
AI as a woodworking tool
The amount of coverage of AI these days is simply overwhelming. Everybody is talking about it. Politicians argue about it. Businesses can’t wait to jump on the bandwagon (full disclosure: my son-in-law is co-founder of an AI startup). And the discussions seem to go in two extremes.
On one end are the doomsayers, raising fears of Skynet and the Terminator along with campaigns to stop data centers and slow AI development. On the other end are strategists presenting AI as akin to the space race in the Cold War1960s and raising fears the U.S. will be left behind if we don’t advance AI as far and as fast as possible.
So quickly has AI grown that the Wall Street Journal reports, “The AI build-out is on track to become the biggest economic bet in U.S. history, dwarfing the investments made to fund other huge U.S. infrastructure projects such as the railroads, the highway system and the plumbing for the internet.” By 2032, the report predicts, the infrastructure build-out for AI will be 3.6% of the gross national product. That dwarfs historic infrastructure projects like the railroads from 1870-1890 (which was 2.24% of GDP), highway projects from 1956-1973 (accounting for 1.13% of GDP), and more recent projects for telecommunications and fiber optics from 1996-2003 (representing just 1.1% of GDP).
In dollars, artificial-intelligence infrastructure will cost $10.3 trillion from 2025 to 2032, according to a report published by the Brookings Institution.
But in the middle of all of this I keep hearing people saying, “Calm down. AI is just a tool.”
Indeed, even in the woodworking industry alone, every day seems to bring some new application for artificial intelligence. Shops are using it to prepare estimates and proposals and for communications with customers. I visited a shop in Atlanta recently that used AI to layout all its equipment for the most efficient production. Then AI wrote all the standard operating procedures for each station in the new layout. Companies are rushing to bring AI to bear on marketing challenges, including for the furniture and woodworking industries.
Enthusiastic shop owners are turning to AI agents as the trusted business advisors they never had before. Questions that once would go to a lawyer, accountant, or business colleague are now fed as prompts to an AI agent to spit out instant answers.
It’s fascinating to me how readily shops have already embraced AI as their trusted advisor. I’ve spent years — decades actually — trying to encourage independent woodworking businesses to network more with their peers to learn more and have ready access to problem-solving tools from colleagues who have been there and done that before. It seems the AI bots are more attractive than talking to real people. Is it because there’s no embarrassment factor in asking a potentially stupid question to a bot? Maybe I’ll have to ask my AI agent about that.
I want to get to our interview with Furniture Connect, but first a word from our sponsor.
FDMC magazine is your vital source of information to improve your woodworking business. Whether it is keeping you apprised of the latest advances in manufacturing, helping you improve efficiency with lean manufacturing guru Brad Cairns, or inspiring you with case histories about successful businesses and best practices, FDMC magazine is there to be the sharpest business tool in your shop. Learn more and subscribe for free at woodworkingnetwork.com/fdmc.
Now, let’s talk about a new practical application of artificial intelligence for furniture sales.