Artificial Intelligence and the Rise of Corporate Digital Responsibility: Unlocking Ethical Governance

ABSTRACT The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is reshaping the global economic and social structure, and its wide application empowers the sustainable development of enterprises. This paper investigates the impact of AI on Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) by drawing on data from Chinese listed enterprises. While the baseline analysis covers the period 2011–2022, this paper additionally employs an extended sample (2011–2024) to construct an alternative CDR measure for robustness checks. The results demonstrate that AI significantly enhances CDR performance. This conclusion still holds after the robustness tests, endogenous tests and the CDR sub‐dimensional regression test. In enterprises with low financing constraints and enterprises located in provincial capitals, the promotional effect of AI on CDR performance is more obvious. The mechanism tests reveal that the effects of AI on CDR performance primarily arise through its influence on analyst concern and the equity balance. This research not only contributes insights into the drivers of CDR but also offers mechanistic insight into the specific pathways through which AI influences CDR performance. It drives measurement innovation by introducing a practical, validated CDR evaluation framework that can serve as a foundation for future empirical research. This study enhances understanding of the role of AI in improving enterprises' CDR performance and helps promote sustainable digital practices across economic, social, and environmental domains.