Rethinking AI Through the Lens of Digital Sustainability
The main aim of IMDC-IST 2026 is to provide an international forum for academics, researchers, practitioners, and technology developers from both academia and industry to present their latest research, exchange knowledge, and identify the practical implications of emerging technologies for global impact. Building on the momentum of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its influence on innovation, sustainability, and digital transformation, IMDC-IST 2026 seeks to deepen understanding of how emerging technologies are reshaping individuals, organizations, industries, and societies. In particular, the conference focuses on the growing role of agentic AI and intelligent systems in transforming decision-making, innovation processes, work practices, governance models, and social life.
When Microsoft shared that their water usage had increased 34% with the release of OpenAI, we were struck by the potential impact that could have, particularly for those of us living in the desert. The environmental impacts of agentic AI have raised concerns about the hidden costs of environmental innovation — increased energy and water consumption. For communities in water-scarce and climate-sensitive regions such as the Arabian Gulf and other desert environments, these concerns are directly linked to sustainable development, resource security, and long-term social well-being. While agentic AI offers tremendous opportunities in education, business, services, health, space, and discovery, their widespread adoption raises questions about energy, privacy, trustworthiness, inequality, and social resilience.
A comprehensive sustainability agenda must include different perspectives — the interrelated impacts on people, profits, and the planet — incorporating environmental, social, and governance elements. Responsible agentic AI encompasses systems that simultaneously promote prosperity, climate consciousness, social equality, and individual well-being. It refers to AI systems that are not only autonomous and goal-oriented, but also designed, deployed, and governed with foresight, accountability, transparency, and concern for unintended consequences.
IMDC-IST 2026 invites researchers to rethink the future of intelligent and agentic technologies through the lens of digital sustainability and responsible innovation. The conference encourages theoretical, empirical, and applied contributions that explore how agentic AI can support sustainable organizations, climate-conscious innovation, ethical digital transformation, social inclusion, human well-being, and trustworthy governance.
