Hundreds of social workers in the UK have started using artificial intelligence systems that record conversations, compose letters to doctors and suggest actions that human workers would never have considered.
Seven councils in Swindon, Barnet and Kingston are now using AI tools on social workers’ phones to record and analyze face-to-face meetings. The Magic Notes AI tool creates a summary almost instantly and suggests follow-up actions, such as drafting a letter to your GP. A further 24 councils have implemented it or are piloting it.
Beam, which developed the system and hired staff from Meta and Microsoft, says the tool can save up to £2 billion a year by reducing the time social workers spend taking notes and filling out reports. It claims to have the potential to save money.
But the technology could raise concerns about how busy social workers weigh the actions suggested by AI systems and decide whether to ignore a suggested action. There is also.
The British Association of Social Workers welcomed AI systems that free up time for face-to-face work, but said they should “never replace relationship-based social work practice and decision-making”.
One exam board said it needed extra reassurance that AI tools were accurately summarizing the content of the meeting before notes about potentially life-changing choices were saved on file.
The London Borough of Camden’s impact assessment found that one person who role-played a customer happened to say that he found using the phone a bit difficult. The AI generated a case summary that added potential actions to consider technology training, but neither role-play participant understood it.
Seb Barker, chief operating officer of Magic Note company Beam, said there was nothing in the feedback from the pilot to suggest social workers were simply following Magic Note instructions. . Summary and follow-up actions require human approval. He said there was no evidence that social workers were switching off during interviews with clients and letting AI create action plans.
One in 10 adult social workers in the UK is unfilled, with child and family social worker vacancies in 2023 the second highest since 2017, with the government’s risk assessment at ‘critical’. There is.
Swindon Borough Council has signed a six-month contract to use the technology and said it would be particularly useful for social workers with dyslexia. Cllr Ray Ballman, cabinet member for adult social care, said this was “a big change for our colleagues”.
Wiltshire County Council’s Equality Impact Assessment states: “This tool does not make decisions or take any fully automated actions regarding the creation of conversations. Practitioners always make the final decision. , appropriate quality checks and monitoring should be applied.”
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The London borough of Barnet has rolled out the tool to adults after its staff were able to “engage more fully with residents using the tool”, it saved time and “no issues of bias were identified”. It is being provided to 300 social care workers. The AI summary is just a “starting point” that will be compiled by social workers and checked by administrators before being submitted as official record, the spokesperson said.
A recent assessment by the National Audit Office found that 70% of all UK government departments are piloting or planning to use AI systems. But the spending watchdog said aging IT systems, skills gaps and data quality issues could hinder the public sector’s ability to take advantage of rapidly advancing technology. There is no central regulator for AI in the UK, but the Labor government plans to legislate to “impose requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models”.
The Magic Notes system collects sensitive information such as health status, personal finances, address, date of birth, telephone number, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, and religious beliefs. It is powered by AI algorithms created by San Francisco companies Deepgram and OpenAI. Barker said the recordings are stored on Beam’s servers in the UK and the data is not used to train Magic Note or other AI systems.
A Croydon City Council spokesperson said: “We are evaluating the pilot and will carry out a full assessment before proceeding.” Appropriate checks and governance will apply to the use of AI. ”
Maris Stratoulis, Managing Director of the British Association of Social Workers England, said: “We need to ensure the regulation of AI, a national framework of ethical principles for the use of AI, and when AI applications can be used and in which industries. We demand transparency about this.” Fulfill accountability to the public and protect human rights. ”
