Artificial intelligence and poverty alleviation: Emerging innovations and their implications for management education and sustainable development

Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help humanity achieve the ambitious goal of eradicating extreme poverty. The United Nations (UN) General Assembly, in its declaration Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, boldly proclaimed the aspirations of the nations of the world to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere.” No Poverty is the first of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, humanity is not on track to accomplish this ambitious goal; the COVID-19 pandemic has increased joblessness and economic disruption pushing additional millions into extreme poverty and rolling back the gains in poverty alleviation over the past three decades. This paper briefly explores the theoretics of poverty, recent trends in management education, and emerging innovations in AI. It provides some examples of AI implementation in the agriculture sector and draws inferences from these diverse but coalescing transformations in AI, management education, and sustainable development. •No Poverty is the first of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).•Humanity has had the capacity to eradicate extreme poverty, endemic hunger and poverty-related deprivations.•AI, digital technologies, and big data are creating a significant economic, social and environmental impact on society.•Studies of some emerging AI practices and new technology applications in agriculture could help to alleviate poverty.•Management education is in a state of transition to prepare students for an indeterminable and nebulous future.