Invited Symposium II: Advancing Health and Social Equity Through Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping social work research and practice. This invited symposium features five experts in social work to show how AI can dismantle barriers to health and social well-being. Dr. Ruopeng An will share an equity-focused data science pipeline that counters misinformation, refines precision nutrition, and improves social workers’ communication skills, while protecting transparency and fairness. Dr. Desmond Patton illustrates how a joy-centered analytic lens transforms social-media grief discourse into collective healing and connection for Black communities. Dr. Cheng Ren unlocks millions of unstructured eviction records with computer vision and natural-language processing, revealing actionable insights that inform eviction-prevention policy and address housing justice. Dr. Hee Yun Lee reports mixed-methods findings on social work students’ AI literacy, ethical concerns, and readiness to deploy generative tools, informing social work curricula that preserve empathy and combat algorithmic bias in future practitioners. Finally, Dr. Jiaqi Gong showcases the Open Knowledge Networks project, which builds interconnected, semantic models of diverse social, health, and environmental data to support meaningful social work research and real-world impact. Collectively, the five presentations demonstrate transparent and ethical AI use to promote social work’s values around advancing health and social equity. Participants of this symposium will gain timely and cutting-edge insights for promoting accurate health information, emotional well-being, housing stability, ethically competent workforces, and knowledge infrastructures that center marginalized populations and promote their well-being.