Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly visible in social work, yet its concrete applications across the field remain diffuse. We aim to synthesize AI applications in social work across practice, education, research, policy, and ethics, and to surface gaps for future inquiry and guidance. Following established scoping review guidance (Arksey & O’Malley; JBI), we conducted a structured Web of Science search using comprehensive AI terms, restricted to social work journals indexed in Journal Citation Reports (2000–2025). Four reviewers screen titles and abstracts in duplicate, resolving discrepancies by consensus. Data charting captures AI task, technique, data source, unit of analysis, evaluation approach, setting, and ethical safeguards. [Preliminary Results] Pilot screening suggests growth after 2016. Research uses include automated qualitative coding, natural language processing of case notes, and predictive modeling. Education applications involve tutoring, feedback, assessment support, and ethics pedagogy. Practice applications include triage, risk assessment, decision support, resource matching, and client chatbots. Policy uses is broad, from regulation and democracy to sector-specific policies in child protection, welfare, health, and rights. Ethical work addresses fairness, transparency, accountability, privacy, and bias mitigation, yet reporting of datasets, validation methods, and impact remains inconsistent. Preliminary conclusions indicate AI in social work spans multiple domains but remains uneven in methodological rigor and ethical reporting. This review provides a field wide map of applications, clarify standards for evaluation and transparency, and highlight priorities such as participatory design, contextual validation, and equity auditing to align AI with social work’s core values.
Presenters
Yali FengAssistant Professor, Behavioral Sciences Librarian, University Library, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library, Illinois, United States Steven Anderson
Professor and Dean Emeritus, School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, United States Fan Yang
Student, PhD, LGSW, The University of Illinois Urban Champaign, United States Tuyet Mai Hoang
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Artificial Intelligence; Social Work; Scoping Review
