As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly transforms the way most of us do our work, NASW is calling for the creation of a congressional commission to help ensure that social work is not left behind.
An NASW action alert was sent out on Feb. 18, urging members to contact their representatives to demand support for a Congressional AI Commission for Social Workers.
Ja’Bree Harris, public policy and advocacy manager at NASW, said the policy team has already met with Rep. Jay Obernolte, Calif.-23, chair of thebipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, and Rep. Haley Stevens, Mich.-11, a task force member.
Congress established the task force last year “to explore how Congress can ensure America continues to lead the world in AI innovation while considering guardrails that may be appropriate to safeguard the nation against current and emerging threats.”
Harris said AI is a tool and not a replacement for social workers, so “a big piece of this is safeguarding our workforce.”Another piece is preventing systematic bias, he said, because AI learns from humans. “If you are a racist social worker, your artificial intelligence will be racist as well.”
AI also can help social workers do their jobs better, he added. “A practitioner struggling under 40 hours of paperwork could be saved by using AI.”
Yet another piece is developing ethical standards for AI, and “we don’t have those just yet,” Harris said. “It’s the wild, wild West right now when it comes to AI. There is no standard for accountability in those spaces.”
A Congressional AI Commission for Social Workers would look at these issues, and would call for public-private partnerships, he said, bringing in larger companies that benefit from AI, like Google, Dell, Microsoft and Meta. “We also want to bring in our insurers,” Harris said, which benefit from using AI, too. For example, he said, insurance companies know that a platform like Chat GPT can diagnose illnesses.
“What I want folks to hold onto … is that human relationships are irreplaceable and remain at the heart of social work,” he said. “While I train my AI tool, it doesn’t have cultural competence.”
Though the creation of the commission has not yet begun, Harris said the social work profession needs to learn to adapt to and leverage AI now. He said it will take a concerted effort on the policy side to get the commission established, “and some brave social workers speaking up.”
One good thing is that a commission doesn’t cost any money, he said, and “allows us to produce fair policies across the board, for both public and private interests.”The commission also would provide opportunities for the social work profession to get a handle on any issues ahead of time.
“We would rather be in front of it than behind it,”he said, “doing things on our own terms rather than being forced to adapt.” This is for the longevity of social service work, he added. “AI has the ability to change the way we do social services. It can be good or bad. It’s up to us.”
“AI will change the course of the world as we know it. Us using that as a tool will impact so many lives,” Harris said. “This is a moment where leadership is needed, and NASW will be a leader on this.”
Visit NASW’s Action Center now to compose and send a message to your representatives.