New Vision on Sustainability 2026

Sustaining Human Progress in the Age of AI

Artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape the conditions under which sustainable development is imagined, pursued, and governed, not only the tools available to achieve it. As AI becomes embedded in how societies produce knowledge, organise economies, educate people, deliver care, and govern institutions, sustainability can no longer be treated as a fixed destination to which AI is simply applied. AI is becoming part of the systems through which sustainable futures are imagined and built.

New Vision on Sustainability 2026 takes this as its guiding question: how does AI change the conditions under which sustainable societies are imagined, built, and governed - and what does this mean for how we understand sustainable development itself?

AI can be studied as a means of advancing sustainability, as an object of sustainability inquiry, or, most distinctively, as a force that may change what sustainability means: what counts as progress, whose knowledge is authoritative, what forms of agency and participation remain possible, and how responsibility is understood when aspects of human decision-making are increasingly delegated to machines.

This question can be approached from many disciplinary and intellectual directions: in how AI is reshaping education, skills, and labour; in its intersection with inequality and social protection; in the information ecosystems that sustain trust and democratic life; and in healthcare and care, environmental limits, scientific practice, governance and institutions, cities and infrastructure, global disparities in access to computing power, or responsibilities to future generations. These are examples of where the question may lead, not a map of where a submission must sit. 

We welcome empirical, theoretical, conceptual, critical, comparative work, as well as case studies that speak to broader scholarly questions, from education, economics, development studies, media and communication, public policy, and related fields.

 

Possible Questions of Inquiry (These questions are intended as possible points of inquiry rather than predefined thematic tracks. Contributions may engage with one or several of them, or develop related questions from other disciplinary and intellectual perspectives).

1. How is artificial intelligence changing what we mean by human progress, sustainable development, and societal wellbeing?
    
2. How is AI reshaping human development and social systems - including education, skills, work, health, social protection, and lifelong learning? 
   
   
3. How is AI transforming knowledge, information, and public life, and what does this mean for trust, media, participation, and informed societies? 
   
   
4. What new forms of inequality, exclusion, power, responsibility, and governance emerge as AI becomes embedded in social and institutional life - and how can societies ensure that technological transformation remains equitable and inclusive? 
   
   
5. What are the environmental, material, and intergenerational conditions of AI, and how might AI shape the sustainable futures that societies are able to imagine and build?
   
   

Participate in the Conference

The conference is open to academics and researchers, PhD candidates, students, and practitioners from the public, private and non-governmental sectors. Participants may take part either by presenting their work or by attending without presenting.

Types of Contribution

• Research presentation (abstract only): presentation of completed or ongoing research.
• Research presentation with a full paper: presentation followed by a full paper for consideration in the journal.
• Practice-based presentation: a case study, good practice or policy example that speaks to broader questions of sustainability and AI.

 

Submission Guidelines

Abstracts are submitted through the online form at the bottom of this page. Each submission should include:

• the title of the contribution
• an abstract of 300–500 words:
  • for research: the research question, methods, and main findings or expected outcomes
  • for case studies, practices and policies: the context, what was done, the results, and lessons learned
• 3–5 keywords
• the names and institutional affiliations of all co-authors or co-presenters, if any

Abstracts may be submitted in Georgian or English. Submitted work must be the author’s own and must not have been published or submitted for review elsewhere.

All abstracts will be assessed on relevance to the conference theme, originality, clarity, and contribution to the field.

Publication Opportunity

Full papers submitted for the conference will be considered for publication in the new annual journal New Vision on Sustainability. Papers will undergo peer review before publication. Full papers are due by February 10, 2027.

Full papers should follow the publishing standards set by New Vision University. Templates will be shared for selected papers.

Important Dates

Abstract submission deadline	November 23, 2026 (23:59, Tbilisi time, GMT+4)
Notification of acceptance	December 1, 2026
Conference	December 11, 2026
Full paper submission	February 10, 2027

Participation Fee

Participation in the conference is free of charge.

Practical Information

• Certificates: All presenters and participants will receive a certificate of participation.
• International participants: On request, the organizers can provide an official invitation letter for visa purposes. Please indicate this when contacting us, as soon as possible after your abstract is accepted.
• Accessibility: If you have accessibility requirements, please let us know in the submission form so we can make arrangements.
• Programme: The conference programme will be published on this page after December 1, 2026.

Contact

For questions about the conference, please contact [email protected]