Social Work in the Global Environment

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being introduced into social work, promising to reduce administrative burdens and create more time for relationship-based practice. Drawing on an evaluation of an AI-assisted recording tool in a Scottish local authority, this presentation explores both the opportunities and challenges of this technology. Findings highlight benefits in time savings and practitioner engagement, alongside concerns about accuracy, missing context and the limitations of AI in capturing the complexities of human interaction. The presentation introduces the concept of ‘relational augmentation’, arguing that AI should enhance rather than replace the relational dimensions of social work. Ultimately, the effective and ethical use of AI must remain grounded in professional judgement, human relationships and social work values.

Richard Ingram is Professor of Social Work in the Division of Education and Society at the University of Dundee. A qualified social worker, his practice experience spans groupwork, child protection, youth work and working with adults with learning disabilities.

Richard joined the University of Dundee as a lecturer in 2004 and has since developed extensive experience in programme development, institutional partnerships, educational leadership and internationalisation. His research interests include emotional intelligence, relationship-based practice, digitalisation and artificial intelligence, student experience and global social work.

He is currently Co-Editor-in-Chief of Social Work Education: The International Journal and serves on the Executive Committee of the European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly prevalent in social work. AI is being used to conduct client risk assessments; assist people in crisis; strengthen prevention efforts; identify systemic biases in the delivery of social services; provide social work education, supervision, and training; document services; and predict social worker burnout and service outcomes, among other uses. This presentation will examine cutting-edge ethical and social justice issues related to social workers’ use of AI; apply relevant ethical standards; and outline key elements of a strategy for social workers’ ethical use of AI.

Frederic G. Reamer has been on the faculty of the School of Social Work, Rhode Island College since 1983.  His research and teaching have addressed a wide range of human service issues, including mental health, health care, criminal justice, public welfare, and professional ethics.  Dr. Reamer received his Ph.D. (social work) from the University of Chicago. He has served as a social worker in correctional and mental health settings.  He has also taught at the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration, and the University of Missouri-Columbia, School of Social Work. 

Dr. Reamer has served as Director of the National Juvenile Justice Assessment Center of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; as Senior Policy Advisor to the Governor of Rhode Island; and as a Commissioner of the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation, the state housing finance agency. Dr. Reamer served on the State of Rhode Island Parole Board from 1992 to 2016.  He also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Social Work Education.  He serves as Associate Editor of the National Association of Social Workers Encyclopedia of Social Work (Oxford University Press and National Association of Social Workers). Since 2012, Dr. Reamer has served as the ethics instructor in the Providence (RI) Police Department Training Academy.

Dr. Reamer has conducted extensive research on professional ethics.  He has been involved in national research projects sponsored by The Hastings Center, the Carnegie Corporation, the Haas Foundation, and the Scattergood Program for the Applied Ethics of Behavioral Healthcare at the Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania.  He has published 26 books and more than 200 journal articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia articles. 

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping clinical social work, from documentation and assessment support to resource navigation and treatment planning. This presentation explores how social workers can collaborate thoughtfully with large language models, machine learning, and natural language processing while preserving human judgment, therapeutic relationships, and professional accountability. Participants will examine responsible use cases, ethical and clinical risks, and practical approaches to privacy, bias, transparency, informed consent, and human oversight in an evolving practice landscape.

Dr. Carl J. Sheperis serves as Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies at Kutztown University. Dr. Sheperis has extensive experience in pediatric and family mental health and has served as an expert to various media outlets, including The Huffington Post, The Conversation, the Denver Post, Seattle Times, Parenting, Prevention, Disney Family, Bustle, The Hill, The Vine, numerous radio talk shows, and others. His interviews have reached over 50,000,000 readers.

Dr. Sheperis is recognized as an expert in applying artificial intelligence to the health professions. He has delivered keynote addresses worldwide on this topic and serves as co-chair of the AI working group for the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). Dr. Sheperis has published articles on AI in healthcare and has a forthcoming book on artificial intelligence in counseling.

With ongoing pressure by the government, tech industry, academy, and social work profession to utilize ai, this session invites social workers to PAUSE and reflect on what the downstream impacts of ai use means for the future of people and the planet. The session will offer an ecosocial work informed framework as an alternative to consider when navigating the escalating systemic demands to access this technology.

Dr. Leah Prussia (she/they) is an Associate Professor in the MSW program at the College of St. Scholastica. Leah is also a practicing clinician with over 20 years of experience as a mental health professional. Leah’s work focuses on fostering mind/body and personal/planetary relationships through neuroregulation and collaboration with the natural environment. Leah serves as the current Chair for CSWE’s Council on Environmental Justice and Human Rights. Leah is actively involved with Rights of Nature advocacy and is presently working with Waankam to secure rights for the St. Louis River Estuary, which holds spiritual and ecological significance for the Anishinaabe and those that consider the Twin Ports area home.