Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability in a Game-Changing Post-COVID-19 Era: Key Drivers for Economic Development, Social Development, and Environmental Protection

Abstract

Key Terms in this Chapter

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning on the Way of Transforming Various Industries: Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents the intelligence that the machines are demonstrating and is opposed to the Natural Intelligence (NI) which is displayed by human beings and by animals; in addition, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have the great power to transform various domains and industries these days, such as, for example, business, education, law, information technology (IT), marketing, medical, technology industry (TI), manufacturing, and so on; thus, in order to support a better future for all and be part of a game-changing Post-COVID-19 Era, Artificial Intelligence (AI) should be friendly, should enable smart machines to be capable of performing tasks that are repetitive for humans, thus offering people the opportunity to center on grater and on more complex task and to be able to develop themselves and their creativity (European Parliament (EP), 2022b).

Sustainability in a Game-Changing Post-COVID-19 Era: These days, taking care of the natural habitats and ensuring biodiversity have come major concerns for specialists; sustainability represents a must in the society in which people live in these days, since it has the power to support life and to ensure healthier ways of living; the society in which people live in today has been severely and, in some cases, even irreversibly affected by pollution, deforestation, and waste, which has led to the need to become more responsible in the actions and in the activities that take places in all areas; the future of the society is represented by green economics, with an accent on healthier habits and healthier frameworks and models in which to develop and to prosper; the old economic models based on increased prices, maximization of profit, and high benefits without showing concern towards nature and individuals, have led the society to severe crises, which means that specialists have looked for new economic models which are built on better principles than the ones before, centering on trust, respect towards life, nature, and the prosperity of the future generations due to come.

Social Development (SD): In the Post-COVID-19 Era, Social Development (SD) has become essential for the prosperity and the future of humanity; the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 crisis have shown the fragility of life itself and the importance of living in harmony with the plants, the animals, and the environment, at a general level; besides that, it is the authors opinion that Social Development (SD) relies on access to education programs and life-long training sessions, since constantly expending knowledge and having access to information provide better solutions for healthier lifestyles; in continuation, having access to education represents a tremendous asset when it comes to making the right choices and taking the right decisions in life, based on the fact that the access to information makes individuals more powerful and more capable to choose between right and wrong; these days, Social Development (SD) should reflect the level of harmony that should be encountered between the society and nature, since sustainability should accompany all the actions made by people and all the decisions that are taken.

Benefits and Risks of Artificial Intelligence: These days, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is progressing rapidly, and it brings both benefits and risks to our society; specialists believe that the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on our society should be in the benefit of the society and our Planet Earth, by aligning the Artificial Intelligence (AI) goals with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thus creating a New Economic Model capable to support life, well-being, health, happiness, peace, security, and a bright future for all; nevertheless, specialists believe that the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on our society could be devastating in those cases in which it will lead to threats to the safety of the communities, by making use of “lethal autonomous weapons systems” – namely, “slaughter-bots”, “killer robots” (European Parliament (EP), 2022a).

Economic Development (ED): The COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 crisis have made human beings more aware of the fragile nature of life and have shown that any minor inadvertence that might occur in the habitat that individuals live in could lead to immediate disasters, having irreversible consequences on our lives; Economic Development (ED) should be understood these days in a different manner that it was perceived in the past decades, since development itself should be associated with good lives, high standards of living, happiness, prosperity, security, healthier lives, and a bright future for all; Economic Development (ED) should be based on harmony with the natural ecosystems and should be understood as a way of making people’s lives better without harming the environment and without affecting the Planet’s resources.

Artificial Intelligence in a Game-Changing Post-COVID-19 Era: Artificial Intelligence (AI) occupies a top position these days and is considered a hot subject due to its popularity among the representatives of the business circles and the technology circles; although many specialists argue that Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents the future of our society, it can be noted that it is, in fact, an integrating component of the present days; moreover, it represents the branch of Computer Sciences (CS) that possesses a game-changing power in the Post-COVID-19 Era and which represents the key to a better future for all, in the context in which it values the remarkable advantages and the magnificent benefits comprised by the simulation of Human Intelligence Processes (HIP) by different types of machines – with a particular accent put on the simulation of Human Intelligence Processes (HIP) by different types of computer systems and which put an accent on the development of Intelligence Machines (IM); furthermore, there are numerous applications that enable Intelligence Machines (IM) to operate, think, and work like human beings, and which are based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), which are based on Expert Systems (ES), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Vision (MV), Problem-Solving (PS), Learning and Planning (LP), and/or Speech Recognition (SR); hence, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a game-changing Post-COVID-19 Era points out the necessity of helping human beings to adapt to the digitalization processes at a quicker pace, in order to obtain major benefits into day to day lives, while finding solutions to improve, govern, and develop the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the future yet to come (European Parliament (EP), 2022c).

Environmental Protection (EP): These days, the New Economy has proven that knowledge represents the most important asset that the society has access to and has shown that life is the most valuable good that individuals have; in the spirit of acting responsibility, Environmental Protection (EP) has become an integrating part of the New Economy, showing that the future of humanity and of Planet Earth are interrelated, and one without the other is not possible; Environmental Protection (EP) depends on Social Responsibility (SR) and on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actions and initiatives, that embrace healthier lifestyles, deep concern towards nature’s preservation, keeping the natural habitats safe, ensuring biodiversity, and fostering well-balanced ecosystems.