AI-Driven English Education and Learner Psychology: Reducing Linguistic Inequalities for Sustainable Economic Empowerment (SDGs 10 & 8)

In the global economy of the 21st century, proficiency in English language has ceased being an academic necessity to an essential kind of human capital. Traditional teaching models however, do not prepare students to work in the modern workplace and thus causing a Linguistic Divide where high-stakes testing forms an Affective Filter that prevents long-term acquisition. The study examines the role of AI-mediated English education in changing the psychological and economic opportunities of the university students in Islamabad with the specific focus on the intersection of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 10 and 8. The study used a mixed-methods convergent parallel design, which examined the quantitative data collected on 350 undergraduate students and the qualitative data of the 20 semi-structured interviews. The results showed that there was a strong positive correlation between the AI use and the perceived employability (r =.81) and they also demonstrated that the AI tools served the purpose of a Great Equalizer by closing the proficiency gap between university students who attended either a public or a private university. Qualitatively, the respondents mentioned AI as a safe-to-fail environment, which alleviates anxiety and creates a Psychological-Linguistic Nexus that is required to develop sustainably. The research then comes up with the conclusion that AI-mediated autonomy predicts career confidence best. The institutionalization of AI literacy by the HEC and the use of Teacher Support Program to promote educators as facilitators are some of the recommendations. The longitudinal studies should be conducted in the future to trace the transformation of the AI-mediated gains into economic mobility and dwell upon the neuro-linguistic effects of the AI-human interaction.