At the moment, our society is full of the rapid and widespread change that is Artificial Intelligence (AI). Since this is a social change that impacts on people, all social workers need to engage with it.
The first thing that I have been pondering is that massive change is not new to social work. An example is the recent shift to wide-spread virtual work. Our role, I think, is to help people navigate a changing world and to get to a place where they can thrive. And, more than this, to ensure that people don’t fall into the gaps that emerge or get pushed aside as change happens.
When faced with change, I believe it is important for us to hang onto the question: Why are we making this change? Social workers, wherever we are based, can challenge change for change’s sake and ask about who this benefits, does it benefit everyone and, if people are missing out, what can we do differently.
When it comes to AI, we don’t know yet what the change will mean, what gaps will emerge or how people might be excluded. However, we can be reflecting and discussing along the way so that we are actively engaged, challenging and taking part in what happens.
A starting point for thinking through AI (or any other development in how we do social work) is to consider two things:
How does this fit with the purpose of social work?
How do we do this in a way that fits with the social work ethics?
The global definition of social work says that: “Social work…promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people.”
So a starting point for us thinking about AI is: How will this empower and liberate people?
Some initial ideas are that it a tool for information, explanation and potentially inclusion. It could enhance decision making, accessibility and timeliness of what we do.
However, it could also marginalise, exclude, confuse, misinform or consume resources.
When I come across any opportunity to use AI, I can ask: How does this help my social work purpose?
In my work supporting practice improvement and undertaking direct work with older people it could help free up time for relational practice, enable me to capture and summarise information, help me present things creatively or help me to incorporate more evidence in my decision making.
If we do change how we do things, this is where the Code of Ethics comes in. Our ethics are to promote human rights, increase social justice and act with integrity. This is about the means as well as the end. Some examples are:
- In terms of integrity – Social workers are currently using AI to summarise meetings or calls in order to have time for more relational work. However, we also have to do this in an ethical way, for example by making sure that people know how records are created and by taking accountability for checking them.
- In terms of human rights – AI devices are being used to monitor sound and motion in care homes and to send an alert to care staff at night if it seems like someone has had a fall. However this is surveillance, and so we need to ensure consent or make a decision in someone’s best interests balancing their rights to protection and to privacy.
- In terms of social justice – Chatbots are being used to give people quicker routes through to services and algorithms are being used to identify people at risk of harm. However, we need to ensure that ways of working don’t either exclude people or cause interference in someone’s life which is unwarranted.
There are some useful resources to help us think through the purpose and ethics of AI (and living in a digital world).
- A good starting point are the Digital capabilities for social workers | BASW. This covers the practicalities and ethics of using different technology with people.
- BASW has also produced Guidance on using generative AI
- The Care Workers association have produced Guidance on expectations from organisations and from staff about using AI – this sets out vital advice before you start using AI at work
- Finally, McDonald and colleagues in 2023 developed a way of thinking about practice in the digital age – the ecology of the three digital Rs.
- Digital relationality is about how digital technology facilitates relationships. It includes how we are present with people, choice about interaction and boundaries.
- Digital rights is about equality of ethical and safe access to technology. It includes inclusion, privacy and the right to control your digital footprint.
- Digital resilience is about creating sustainable ways of using digital technology. It includes digital literacy, resources and capacity for people to critically use technology.
We need to develop our own capabilities and promote others’ relationality, rights and resilience.
My hope is that I can keep thinking this through for my work, help others do the same, challenge where necessary, and join with other social workers and people who experience social work to speak up for how we can all be purposeful and ethical in using AI.