Artificial intelligence as enabler for sustainable development

When the UN published the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) were not yet mature. However, through its deployment across industry sectors and verticals, issues related to sustainability, fairness, inclusiveness, efficiency, and usability of these technologies are now priorities for global consumers and producers. This paper discusses what needs to be considered by both policy makers and 'managers' in order to exploit the use of AI for SDG achievement. AI can act as a real and meaningful enabler to achieve sustainability goals; however, it may also have negative impacts. Therefore, a carefully balanced approach is required to ensure that Artificial Intelligence systems are employed to help solve sustainability issues without inadvertently affecting other goals.