Social Work Practice in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: Social Workers’ Voices from South Asia

There is a growing proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) in most spheres and sectors of contemporary society including social work. This article reports a survey of South Asian social workers' views on AI and social work including application domains, usefulness, risks and challenges, training needs, and future of the profession. The majority of respondents have suggested that social workers need training on machine learning, reinforcement learning, and natural language processing. A high proportion proposed that AI will redefine the profession's future through multisource data synthesis on client lifeworld contexts, analysis of macro- and organizational-level data for intervention, multiple domains of practical use, and AI-powered decision support systems to recommend interventions. They recommended having digital ethics committees and diverse stakeholder groups to review AI protocols and suggest modifications in case of algorithmic bias. They also highlighted the need for training sessions on the use of AI to ensure its responsible use in social work practice.