Artificial Intelligence and Green Transition: Assessing the Impact of the Digital Economy on Sustainable Growth in Emerging Economies

The world is currently navigating a dual transformation. On one side, economies are rapidly adopting digital tools, from mobile banking to cloud computing, creating what experts call the "digital economy." This shift is not just about faster internet; it is about how businesses operate, how governments manage resources, and how people connect. On the other side, the planet faces an urgent need to move away from polluting industries toward "green" models that protect the environment while still allowing people to prosper. For decades, these two paths—digital growth and environmental care—were often discussed separately. Some worried that the massive energy needed to power computers and data centers might hurt the environment, while others hoped that smart technology could solve pollution problems. The central question for many developing nations, which are trying to grow their economies quickly while avoiding the environmental mistakes of the past, is whether these two forces can work together. Can the rise of digital tools actually help these countries become more sustainable, or does it simply add new problems?

A team of researchers from Chouaib Doukkali University in Morocco set out to answer this question by looking at data from emerging economies over a fifteen-year period, from 2010 to 2025. They focused on a specific group of countries that are in the process of modernizing their industries and infrastructure. The researchers wanted to see if the growth of the digital economy was helping these nations achieve "sustainable growth," a term they defined as a mix of economic progress and environmental health, such as using less energy to produce goods and shifting toward cleaner power sources. They also wanted to test a specific idea: does artificial intelligence (AI)—the technology that allows computers to learn and solve problems on their own—act as a force multiplier? In other words, does having AI make the digital economy even better at helping the environment, or is it just another tool on the shelf?

To find the answers, the researchers gathered a vast amount of information from international organizations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. They looked at how much each country had invested in digital infrastructure, how many people had access to the internet, and how much they were using digital financial services. They also measured how much these countries were using AI, looking at things like how many patents were being filed for AI technologies and how much money was being invested in them. Finally, they calculated a score for each country's sustainable growth, which combined factors like how efficiently they used energy, how much renewable power they used, and how well they managed their natural resources. By using advanced statistical methods that allowed them to track changes over time and account for differences between countries, they were able to isolate the specific impact of digital tools and AI.

The results were clear and encouraging. The study found that as the digital economy grew in these emerging nations, their sustainable growth improved significantly. Countries that had better internet connections, more digital financial services, and stronger ICT infrastructure saw their environmental and economic performance rise together. The data suggested that digitalization helps by making production systems smarter and more efficient, reducing waste, and allowing for better management of resources. It is not just that these countries are becoming richer; they are becoming cleaner and more efficient at the same time. The researchers noted that this positive link held true even when they accounted for other factors like how open a country was to trade or how wealthy its citizens were on average.

However, the story became even more interesting when the researchers looked at the role of artificial intelligence. They discovered that AI does not just help on its own; it actively strengthens the positive effect of the digital economy. When a country had a high level of AI adoption, the benefits of its digital transformation were amplified. It was as if the digital tools became more powerful when guided by intelligent systems. The study showed that AI helps by enabling predictive analytics, which allows factories to anticipate problems before they happen, and by optimizing energy use in real-time. For example, smart systems powered by AI can manage electricity grids to integrate more solar and wind power, or they can help farmers use water and fertilizer more precisely. The data indicated that for every unit of increase in the digital economy index, the presence of AI added a significant extra boost to sustainable growth outcomes.

The researchers also found that technology alone is not a magic bullet. The success of these digital and AI-driven strategies depended heavily on the quality of a country's institutions. Nations with stronger governance, better laws, and more effective regulatory frameworks were the ones that managed to turn digital investments into real environmental gains. In countries where institutions were weak, the potential benefits of digitalization were often lost or diminished. Similarly, the study highlighted that the shift to digital must be paired with a shift to clean energy. If a country builds massive data centers and AI systems but powers them with coal or oil, the environmental costs of running that technology can cancel out the efficiency gains. The most successful countries were those that combined digital expansion with investments in renewable energy and strong environmental policies.

This research provides a roadmap for policymakers in developing nations. It suggests that investing in digital infrastructure is a viable path toward a greener future, but only if it is done with a clear strategy. Governments need to ensure that their digital growth is supported by robust institutions that can enforce environmental standards and manage the risks of new technologies. They also need to make sure that the electricity powering these new digital systems comes from clean sources. The study concludes that the digital economy and artificial intelligence are powerful drivers of sustainable growth, but they work best when they are part of a broader, well-governed plan that includes clean energy and social inclusion. For emerging economies, the path forward is not to choose between technology and the environment, but to use the former to secure the latter, provided the foundation of governance and energy is strong enough to support it.