Examining the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Policy and Practice in Practicum Settings: Is AI Transforming the Internship Experience?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is advancing more quickly than practitioners ever imagined. Within the last few years, social work educators have recognized that AI has fundamentally transformed social work education including a reconsideration of what skills and knowledge should be taught and developed (Hodgson et al., 2022, p. 1880). There are many benefits to AI in social work practice. For instance, in healthcare, community mental health, and therapy settings, AI is being used for efficiency and to augment documentation so that practitioners may more fully engage with clients and focus on treatment. Moreover, government and scientific institutions are reporting use of AI for diagnoses and treatment options (NAM, 2019), while some diagnostic algorithms are getting regulatory approval from the FDA (Plough & Holm, 2023; Topal, 2019). However, there are also concerns about ethical complexities with AI use including privacy, liability accuracy, bias, and accountability (Westhoff et al., 2025). As a result, some agencies and organizations have embraced it, while others shy away from its use. Currently, social work students are being trained to use AI tools at their practicum sites, including software that enables real-time documentation, informed consent, and improved communication with team members and clients [Note: for fun, the authors used ChatGPT to construct this sentence; could you tell?]. In fact, students are learning new technologies quicker than faculty can update curriculum. Additionally, research on AI policy is still emerging and considered open for development or review (Justo-Hanani, 2022; Perry & Uuk, 2019; Schiff & Schiff, 2023). As such, social work programs must make it a priority to examine the frequency of AI use, its application, AI training, and policy implications for practice. In this panel, faculty from 4 universities across the United States (East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast), will discuss AI use in social work practicum agencies. Addressing results from their mixed methods survey which was distributed to participating agencies at their respective universities, this roundtable session will begin with a dialogue about the frequency of AI by students in practice settings. Presenters will focus on ethical considerations and how agencies are addressing bias, as well as strategies to ensure that students are still learning practice skills despite AI use. Given the diversity of panelists and their locations, speakers will be intentional to address similarities and differences across the country and look for themes. Our goal is to help researchers, educators, and practitioners critically examine this phenomenal shift that is taking place in social work practice, and how we can construct beneficial policies and curriculum that both embrace AI and protect the integrity of the profession. All in all, we want to ensure that we continue to support ethical and competent practice, while utilizing the benefits of the 21st century and its technology to help others and ourselves.