The Linguistic Cornerstone of the Intelligent Society: Toward a Theoretical and Practice Agenda for Linguistic Social Work

Abstract The rise of the intelligent society, where social life is organized through algorithms and data, poses an existential challenge to social work. This conceptual article proposes linguistic social work (LSW) as an exploratory paradigm for reorienting the profession. LSW advances the thesis that language is the cornerstone of intelligent society, the shared cognitive substrate upon which human–machine interfaces and protocols are constructed. While existing scholarship addresses algorithmic bias and digital exclusion as outcomes, LSW identifies language itself as the generative infrastructure through which these harms are produced and perpetuated. These protocols function as a new social contract for human–machine interaction, demanding democratic oversight and professional intervention. Grounded in the ethical compass of cognitive justice and extending critical social work’s foundational commitments to structural oppression into the algorithmic domain, LSW offers a three-pillar practice agenda: (1) comprehensive assessment of the language-algorithm environment; (2) empowerment of individuals and communities to build protocol literacy and cognitive self-determination; and (3) institutional and protocol advocacy for inclusive governance. This article demonstrates how LSW charts new directions for education, research, and practice, sustaining the profession’s enduring mission to advance human dignity and social justice in the algorithmic age.