The study aims to estimate the possibilities of sustainable development, ensuring and achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in light of challenges caused by the pandemic’s “new normal”. In this regard, the study employs bibliometric and empirical approaches. Based on the bibliometric analysis results, it is found that the main focus of sustainable development studies during the pandemic is on economic issues (particularly, innovations and strategic decision-making) while also addressing humanitarian problems such as ensuring health and well-being. To find the practical problems in ensuring sustainable development during the pandemic period, we used the case of Ukraine with appropriate empirical analysis at two levels. Therefore, we estimated the achievements of SDGs compared to planned indicators for 2020 (as the last report data available for this study). As a result, the low level of achievements is proven; particularly, only 20% of planned indicators are fulfilled with planned values. Moreover, the sociological research is conducted to reveal the subjective perceptions of the pandemic’s influence on the possibilities of achieving SDGs. The survey was conducted during the second pandemic wave in December 2020–January 2021, involving 416 respondents. The obtained results confirmed the ambiguous influence of the pandemic. On the one hand, the positive changes are typical for healthcare services and distance learning. However, the negative influence of the pandemic’s “new normal” on SDGs is confirmed by respondents through their concerns about the effects of the pandemic on the development of investments and agricultural technologies as well as the progress in goals, such as “Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure” and “Sustainable Cities and Communities”.

Artificial intelligence is expanding rapidly, intensifying policy concerns that more vibrant AI ecosystems may displace workers and increase unemployment. This study aims to test whether national AI vibrancy is associated with higher unemployment across education groups (advanced, intermediate and basic). Using an unbalanced panel of 34–35 countries from 2017 to 2023, the analysis combines Stanford’s AI Vibrancy Score with World Bank indicators and estimates two-way fixed- and random-effects models, employing Box–Cox/log transformations and dependence-robust inference (including country/time clustering and Driscoll–Kraay standard errors). The results provide little support for the displacement hypothesis. For advanced-education unemployment, AI vibrancy is statistically insignificant in the two-way FE model. It remains insignificant under all robust corrections (ln(AI vibrancy): β = −0.099, country-clustered p = 0.494, time-clustered p = 0.544, Driscoll–Kraay p = 0.468). For basic-education unemployment, AI vibrancy is likewise insignificant in the two-way FE model (p = 0.782). It remains insignificant under country clustering (p = 0.830), time clustering (p = 0.813) and Driscoll–Kraay inference (p = 0.819). For intermediate-education unemployment, the AI coefficient remains insignificant under country clustering (p = 0.273), time clustering (p = 0.310), and Driscoll–Kraay corrections (p = 0.226), indicating no robust unemployment-increasing effect across education groups during the observed period.

A strong perception of poverty reduces the motivation to participate in social activities. Therefore, it can be argued that the perception of poverty positively affects social exclusion but that psychological well-being perceptions reflecting people's life satisfaction mediate this effect. This study investigates the mediator function of psychological well-being in the impact of poverty perception on social exclusion. This quantitative study employs the relational survey model, one of the general survey models. The data were collected from 714 university students using simple random sampling. The poverty perception scale, social exclusion scale, and psychological well-being scale were used to collect data in the research. The findings show that psychological well-being is a lever in the relationship between perceptions of poverty and social exclusion: while stronger perception of poverty parallels a more robust perception of social exclusion, a positive variable, such as psychological well-being, has an explanatory function in this relationship.