AI For SDGs: A Thematic Synthesis Aligning Artificial Intelligence With The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals For An Equitable Digital Future

This youth-led study examines how Artificial Intelligence (AI) advances and threatens progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Drawing on a series of “Conversation Circles” with youth leaders, subject matter experts, and civil society actors — supplemented by thematic analysis and desk research — the study synthesizes insights across multiple SDG domains. Eight cross-cutting themes emerged: four highlight AI’s potential to accelerate sustainable development (process efficiency, access to health and education, environmental resilience, and governance innovation), while four underscore risks (bias and discrimination, labor displacement, environmental costs, and data colonialism). Real-world examples illustrate both sides, from predictive analytics improving crop yields and smart grids, to algorithmic bias reinforcing inequities and data extraction deepening global divides. The paper contributes a systems-level perspective rooted in youth voices often absent from policy discourse. It demonstrates how AI can simultaneously bridge and widen the global development gap, depending on how technologies are designed, deployed, and governed. By situating lived experience alongside global data, the paper underscores the urgent need for ethical, inclusive, and sustainable approaches to AI. It calls on policymakers, industry, and civil society to ensure AI becomes a driver of equity and resilience rather than exclusion and harm.