Chatgpt and AI in the Classroom: Academic Disruptor or Innovative Educator?

The sudden surge in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs such as ChatGPT has skyrocketed current discussion in higher education. While concerns that AI could increase academic misconduct and suppress students' development of critical thinking skills are important considerations, we also have the opportunity to envision how AI could transform the social work classroom and the profession for the better--similar to how learning management platforms, podcasts, social media, and virtual simulations have reshaped educational landscapes over the last few decades. Social work educators must prepare the next generation of social workers to be adept and ethical users of AI technology (Asakura et al., 2020; Dali & Caidi, 2022; Goldkind, 2021; Singer et al., 2023). Education efforts should begin by addressing effective and ethical AI utilization (Singer et al., 2023). There are several strategies that can be incorporated to encourage critical thinking assignments that prepare students. AI programs may provide safe and controlled conditions for students to practice their skills before working with actual clients (Ibrahim et al., 2023). Further, programs like ChatGPT can assist educators in preparing complex cases from diverse perspectives to discuss approaches to resolving ethical dilemmas, or to demonstrate how to effectively implement treatment interventions. As such, educators must proactively address these challenges to leverage the full potential of AI technologies while safeguarding the interests and rights of end users (Alasadi & Baiz, 2023; Latham & Goltz, 2019). Scholars speculate that among various fields of social work, AI programs can provide support to social workers in tasks such as analyzing policy documents, developing culturally sensitive messaging for underserved client populations, and preparing psychoeducational materials more efficiently (Ibrahim et al., 2023). Social workers must be prepared to understand the boundaries of AI including the ethical implications of using AI in their practice and the role of using AI in data privacy (Shah, 2023). In this roundtable, we will begin with a discussion on the current arguments between students' engagement with artificial intelligence (AI) and academic integrity. We will solicit attendees' concerns about incorporating AI into the classroom. We will continue the discussion to explore how AI could be used to enhance student learning and expand or transform traditional course assignments for social work students. Further, we will encourage attendees to identify how the social work profession could utilize AI programs to assist them in their practice and identify potential ethical matters that must be addressed. Lastly, we will encourage participants to identify directions for future research to further understand best practices for incorporating AI into higher education. We will present strategies for harnessing AI resources to prepare future professionals to deal with mainstream AI utilization's ethics, legal, and social implications. We are currently at a pivotal moment with a new technology that could be used for the benefit, or the detriment of social work education and the profession. By engaging in targeted discussions proposed in the roundtable, we are enabled to take a mindful step toward preparing the next generation of social workers.