Digital transformation of welfare state: the role of AI in the context of sustainable development paradigms within the evolution of corporate governance
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence technologies, combined with the increasing institutionalization of sustainable development paradigms, fundamentally transformed the architecture of both public governance and corporate governance systems. These processes raise important theoretical questions regarding the evolving role of the welfare state, the reconfiguration of corporate responsibility, and the emergence of new forms of socio-economic coordination in digitally mediated environments. The aim of this study was to develop integrated theoretical framework explaining the role of AI in the transformation of the welfare state and corporate governance within the context of sustainable development. The research adopts a theory-building design based on historical-comparative analysis, institutional analysis, and conceptual synthesis. The study integrates Marxist political economy, Keynesian welfare theory, sustainable development approaches, stakeholder governance theory, and AI governance literature in order to construct a multidimensional explanatory model of socio-economic evolution. The findings demonstrate a multi-stage transformation of governance systems from industrial capitalism to Keynesian welfare capitalism, followed by sustainable development-oriented governance, and ultimately toward an emerging AI-driven welfare state. In parallel, corporate governance evolves from voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) toward institutionalized ESG frameworks and AI-enabled algorithmic governance systems. The analysis further shows that artificial intelligence increasingly functions as a structural governance infrastructure enabling continuous monitoring, predictive regulation, and coordination across institutional domains. The study concludes that AI should be understood not merely as a technological tool but as a constitutive element of emerging governance architectures that integrate welfare-state institutions, corporate governance systems, and sustainability objectives into a unified socio-technical system.
Source: Aposta
Subfield: Safety Research
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7165669332
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