Artificial Intelligence is Changing Everything. Our New White Paper Helps Make Sense of It All
The release of OpenAI’s Chat GPT in November 2022 marked the beginning of the current artificial intelligence (AI) era. In the few years since, AI is seemingly everywhere.
In late 2025, for example, 95% of consumers said they had at least “heard of AI,” with 62% saying they use it “at least several times a week.” Similarly, an early 2026 report on the business community found 99% of executives considered investments in data and AI to be “a top organizational priority.” And with AI-related investment expected to exceed $2 trillion globally during 2026, it has been credited with “reshaping economies and societies.”
AI is everywhere, but what exactly is it? How does it work, and how is it being put to use? And how to understand the many terms that have become part of our daily lexicon? What is a data center, for example? And what is the difference between “generative AI,” “agentic AI,” and “super AI?”
Our new white paper, “Artificial Intelligence is Here – But What Exactly is it, and How can it Improve Your Supply Chain?” provides detailed information about these and other aspects of this new technology phenomenon. The white paper provides a glossary of common AI-related terms, along with an overview of different categories of AI functionality.
Readers will also gain insight into how artificial intelligence is already reshaping businesses’ supply chains. In manufacturing, for example, advanced robots – called “cobots” — work alongside human beings to perform tasks including welding, assembly, painting and bin picking. AI is transforming the healthcare industry with advancements in diagnostic testing, wearable devices, and targeted immunotherapy treatments. Businesses across many industries have turned to AI-powered chat bots and agents to handle customer service inquiries. One survey found consumers actually preferred resolutions offered via AI-based service agents, based on a 25% decline in inquiries escalated to a manager.
Logistics companies including Purolator have integrated AI-powered capabilities to achieve unprecedented efficiencies. Route optimization, demand forecasting, inventory management, shipment/facility security and returns processing are among the many functions that have been transformed by AI, with new possibilities seeming to arrive on a daily basis.
Artificial intelligence is not without its challenges though. The paper offers insight into some of the concerns that have caused some businesses to take a more cautious approach to their approach to AI integration. This includes concerns about accuracy, algorithm “biases,” job displacement, and energy/water consumption, among others.
Artificial intelligence is here to stay. And with 99% of business leaders calling it “a top organizational priority,” AI is well-positioned to transform core industry practices. Our new white paper is an important resource for anyone interested in learning more about artificial intelligence and understanding how it might address personal and business needs.
Why this paper is important:
- Artificial intelligence has been called everything from “transformative” to “the most important invention that humanity will ever make.” But it has also been called “the biggest threat to humanity,” and an “existential risk.”
- One certainty though, is that AI has arrived and is here to stay. In fact, AI applications can be found throughout daily life – often with users not even realizing that their interactions with Google maps, Siri, and Alexa, among others, are AI-powered.
- AI is also having an impact on business innovation and productivity, as robotics take hold and artificial intelligence becomes “smarter.” AI is driving innovation within the healthcare industry, facilitating banking and finance operations, automating manufacturing processes, and improving overall supply chain effectiveness.
Amazon, for example, has more than one million robots deployed throughout its global operations. These AI-powered machines have helped improve fulfillment processes by as much as 80%. And logistics providers, including Purolator, rely on AI-based functionality for efficiencies in route optimization, inventory optimization, solution development, returns management, shipment security, and customer services, among other areas that have benefited from AI.
AI is poised to change the world. The information presented in this paper will provide a good understanding of the “how’s, what’s and why’s” of current capabilities, to help readers keep pace with this exciting new technology.
What the reader will learn:
The white paper includes several important takeaways that include:
- Industry overview
- An “Artificial Intelligence 101” section that defines key terms.
- An understanding of different categories withing the AI industry, including machine learning, generative artificial intelligence, and robotics, among others.
- The AI Ecosystem
- An overview of the different steps involved in producing an AI model.
- An overview of the AI industry, including top manufacturers, developers, and service providers.
- Opportunities and Concerns
- Artificial Intelligence in the Supply Chain
- Information about how AI is improving efficiency and productivity throughout various industries, including logistics and transportation.
- Information about how Purolator has embraced AI, and is using its capabilities to add efficiency and innovation to customer solutions.
This white paper serves as an important resource for consumers as well as businesses. The information presented provides an understanding of core AI tenets, including key terminology and AI categories. This understanding will allow readers to be more conversant about AI, and more comfortable with the outsized role this technology seems poised to have in our personal and business lives.