Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping social work in multiple ways, bringing with it opportunities and innovation alongside risks and profound ethical dilemmas.
To explore these issues, Community Care is holding our second online event on AI in social work, on 12 February 2026, following our successful event in July 2025.
The forthcoming half-day event will assess the latest thinking on the issue, share case studies of AI in practice and debate the ethical and other challenges that the technology poses for the profession.
The event consists of four sessions:
- An introduction to AI in social work: benefits, challenges, and the road ahead - Kevin Young, managing director of consultancy Coram-i, will explore the practical benefits of AI, drawing on real-life case studies, including in relation to data analysis, predictive insights and streamlining administrative tasks. He will also look at potential future applications of AI in social work and their implications for future applications for ethics, empathy, and human-centred care.
- Predictive AI and social care: opportunities and challenges - Professor Tarsem Singh Cooner and Dr Caroline Webb, of the University of Birmingham, will examine how AI prediction tools are used in the sector, and examine the ethical and practice implications of using predictive analytics in decision-making.
- What's next for AI in children's services? Professor Donald Forrester, of Cardiff University, will explore potential future uses of AI within children’s services and the opportunities and limitations of the technology in reducing bureaucracy, improving decision making and promoting relational practice.
- Panel discussion: the ethical and equity-related challenges of using AI in children’s and adult services - this will examine critical issues such as data bias, transparency, accountability, and the potential of AI to reduce, or reinforce, existing inequalities in services and society, and address the important question of who is leading the conversation on how AI is being used in social work. Our panellists will be announced shortly.
The event costs £125 plus VAT for public or voluntary sector staff and £250 plus VAT for those in the private sector.
