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Loading …Social Work England has commissioned research to examine how artificial intelligence is affecting the profession, while also hosting a summit on the issue.
The two pieces of research – one of which is a literature review – are exploring how AI is shaping social work practice and education.
The regulator said the purpose of the research was to help it understand:
- The areas of Social Work England’s professional standards that may be affected by social workers’ use of AI in their work.
- The types of AI being used across health and social care in England and their application in social work practice, including the risks of bias and discrimination.
- If social workers feel confident and prepared to use AI ethically and appropriately, in line with Social Work England’s professional standards, and how employers are supporting them to do this.
- How social work education providers are preparing students for AI in their future work.
- Data protection and confidentiality when using AI with people using services and the public.
Summit on AI amid increasing use in social work
The summit with sector leaders, held today (4 February 2025), covered the extent of AI use in social work practice currently, the opportunities it can bring to a relationship-based profession, the risks it carries and the concerns being raised with the profession and the ethical implications, particularly regarding equality, diversity, and inclusion.
The news comes with increasing numbers of councils testing the impact of AI tools on practice, including in helping practitioners save time on recording and summarising case notes and suggesting actions to take following assessments or visits.
About one in five practitioners were using such tools for day-to-day case work as of October 2024, according to a Community Care poll.
Other usages for AI in the sector include supporting student and practitioner learning and predicting future needs for social care.
However, social work bodies have raised concerns about the technology’s impact on the profession, including in relation to the quality and reliability of tools, their susceptibility to bias and discrimination and their implications for the privacy of the people social workers work with.
Government plans to roll out AI in public sector
At the same time, the government is planning to roll out the use of artificial intelligence across the public sector in order to reform services.
The implications of this for social work and social care are as yet unclear, though prime minister Keir Starmer pointed to reductions in the time social workers spent on administration as a benefit of the technology, in launching the government’s AI opportunities plan last month.
In a LinkedIn post, following the summit, Social Work England’s executive director of professional practice and external engagement, Sarah Blackmore, said: While already in use, this is a new area for social workers to get to grips with. We are also keen to develop our knowledge through connecting and working with the experts.
“Holistically, there is real value in the tech and social work sectors working together with the potential for real positive impact on people across the country.”
