Artificial Intelligence as a Synergistic Driver of Contemporary Strategies for Accelerating Sustainable Development Processes: A Human Resource Perspective

The relatively slow pace of progress in achieving most of the objectives set forth in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) indicates a rather pessimistic outlook for their timely implementation. This, in turn, calls into question not only the attainment of the declared targets but also the sustainability of global society amid intensifying social, economic, and environmental challenges. These circumstances necessitate a reconsideration of existing approaches and mechanisms for achieving these goals, along with the more active engagement of all relevant stakeholders and a broadening of the range of potential solutions. The study demonstrates that progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be positively influenced by the implementation of contemporary paradigms such as Industry 4.0, Industry 5.0, Society 5.0, the green and circular economy, and open innovation. However, these paradigms primarily address only specific dimensions of sustainable development. This results in the current imbalance in progress toward the SDGs. The authors argue that addressing this imbalance requires intensifying the implementation of these contemporary paradigms through the formation and development of human resources as key drivers of progress. This should be achieved by ensuring the complementarity of knowledge, skills, and competencies in core domains with sustainability-oriented perspectives. In this context, artificial intelligence technologies are considered a key enabling instrument, as their rapidly evolving capabilities open up new opportunities for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of human resources. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to substantiate the role of artificial intelligence technologies in shaping and developing human resources within the framework of priority societal development paradigms. The successful implementation of these paradigms can contribute to accelerating sustainable development. This article is conceptual in nature and constitutes a systematic literature review. The research methodology is based on a comprehensive review of scholarly literature on sustainable development, contemporary economic and societal paradigms, and digital technologies, available in the Google Scholar database. As a result of the research, 89 studies were selected based on the PRISMA methodology. The study also draws upon analytical reports on the implementation of the SDGs, as well as reviews of sustainable development practices and artificial intelligence adoption. General scientific and specialized research methods were employed, including theoretical and historical analysis, induction and deduction, and comparative and gap analysis. The findings provide a theoretical substantiation of the role of artificial intelligence in generating a synergistic effect from the implementation of modern development paradigms in the economy and society, which can have a positive impact on the dynamics of the SDGs.