Ethical and Risk Management Issues in Social Workers’ Use of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly prevalent in social work. AI is being used to conduct risk assessments, assist people in crisis, provide supportive services, strengthen prevention efforts, identify systemic biases in the delivery of social services, document clinical encounters, provide clinical supervision, complete administrative tasks, provide social work education, and predict social worker burnout and service outcomes, among other uses. Social workers’ use of AI raises many ethical issues, especially related to informed consent and client autonomy; privacy and confidentiality; transparency; client misdiagnosis; client abandonment; client surveillance; plagiarism, dishonesty, fraud, and misrepresentation; algorithmic bias and unfairness; and use of evidence-based AI tools. It is critically important for social workers who use AI to apply relevant ethical standards and implement protocols designed to protect clients and practitioners.