Leveraging Strategic Foresight to Mitigate Artificial Intelligence (AI) Risk in Public Sectors

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024 warns that with less than one-fifth of targets on track, the world is failing to deliver on the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds significant potential to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs by enhancing efficiency, fostering innovation, and improving decision-making across various sectors such as health, education, climate change, water, food, and energy. However, the unpredictable trajectory of AI development, coupled with its complex ethical, social, and political ramifications, necessitates a structured approach to anticipate and navigate its potential impacts. Strategic foresight exercises are essential in this context, enabling stakeholders to proactively identify and address emerging challenges and opportunities associated with AI. By leveraging collective intelligence and scenario planning, strategic foresight exercises can help ensure that AI technologies are developed and deployed responsibly, thereby increasing the likelihood of their positive contribution to sustainable and inclusive growth. Such forward-thinking methodologies are critical to mitigating risks and harnessing AI’s transformative power in advancing the SDGs. This policy brief explains how strategic foresight can inform and guide public sectors in anticipating unexpected challenges and effectively harnessing AI technologies.