Using ethical artificial intelligence (EAI) to achieve sustainable development in Iraq: A case study based on a novel model

• Developed an AI-based smart model integrated with sustainability indicators to support decision-making in sustainable development projects in Iraq. • Analyzed 60 developmental projects using SPSS and AI-driven tools to identify key success and failure factors affecting sustainability outcomes. • Addressed critical gaps in energy and water resource management within post-conflict development contexts. • Proposed a unified mathematical framework combining AI, risk assessment, and sustainability analysis for infrastructure planning. • Designed a bilingual (Arabic–English) digital decision-support application for policymakers and engineers to enhance planning efficiency. This study proposes a pioneering Ethical Artificial Intelligence (EAI) framework for advancing sustainable development in Iraq by integrating eight multidimensional sustainability indicators—administrative, technological, economic, environmental, social, legal, security, and governance. Utilizing data from 60 completed development projects, the framework combines SPSS statistical analysis, the SMART-AI model, and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to identify key determinants of project success and failure. Results reveal a 37% project failure rate, with administrative and technological deficiencies emerging as the most influential predictors. The SMART-AI model achieved an accuracy of 91.3% using stratified k-fold cross-validation. A bilingual (Arabic–English) decision-support application was developed to operationalize the model, enabling scenario analysis, risk prediction, and project monitoring under crisis conditions. The findings highlight the potential of Ethical AI to enhance transparency, accountability, and data-driven decision-making in fragile and post-conflict environments, supporting national strategies aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs). Fig. A.