Artificial Intelligence (AI) Literacy for Social Work: Implications for Core Competencies

Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping society, offering new opportunities while potentially intensifying socioeconomic inequalities. For social workers working with marginalized populations, understanding AI’s societal impact is crucial, even if they do not directly engage with AI tools. This invited paper explores how AI literacy—the knowledge and skills to understand, use, and critically evaluate AI systems—can enhance social workers’ ability to support communities navigating AI-driven changes. We review AI’s impacts and applications in social work, explore their implications for the profession, and discuss their effects on social work core competencies. Specifically, we discuss how each of the social work competencies should evolve in response to AI-driven societal changes to better prepare social workers to support affected communities. By embedding AI literacy into core competencies, social workers can better address emerging challenges and promote equity in an AI-influenced society.