The use of paper is something we take so deeply for granted in our day-to-day lives that we might never look at a sheet and wonder where it came from. Products made from wood pulp – printing paper, notepads, cardboard packages, paper tissues – are essential parts of our existence.
In fact, converting wood into paper is one of the largest industries in the world, amounting to 410.9 million metric tons of paper and cardboard being produced worldwide in 2016. The production of paper is an area contributing significantly to some countries’ GDP and playing an important role for many large businesses. Heavy-industry leaders around the world are in agreement that artificial intelligence (AI) will be an essential part of the future of these companies.