This paper discusses the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on business practices in general, as well as its specific impacts on economic growth, environmental performance, and social performance at organizational and societal levels. A survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire administered to 250 randomly selected small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in various key sectors in Saudi Arabia. The quantitative data were evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings suggest that, economically, AI contributes to productivity and efficiency gains, cost savings, and new business model opportunities, while also yielding ambivalent outcomes such as increased market concentration and job displacement in certain areas. Environmentally, AI aids in optimization, energy efficiency, criticality analysis, resource allocation, and predictive analytics aimed at sustainability, though it also presents mixed effects, including higher energy consumption, increased e-waste, and transparency deficits. Socially, AI helps augment the workforce, personalize customer experiences, and enhance cooperation and interaction, alongside mixed impacts such as growing inequality, job displacement, and the deskilling of low- and middle-skilled roles. This paper concludes that AI-based innovations constitute a key factor driving radical shifts in the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of institutions and society within the Saudi context. This study advances the literature by providing a novel framework that integrates artificial intelligence with economic, environmental, and social sustainable development, offering policymakers and SME managers in Saudi Arabia a pathway to adapt to sustainable development.
Abdelraheem et al. (Thu,) studied this question.