Should the government use AI to reform public services?

Earlier this month, prime minister Keir Starmer announced his intention to “harness” artificial intelligence (AI) to “transform public services”.

Launching the government’s AI opportunities action plan, Starmer said AI had the potential to make services “more human” by freeing up time spent on admin, giving staff “more time for the personal touch, the connection, the service that people really value”. This applied to social work too, he argued.

“AI could save hundreds of thousands of hours lost to missed appointments, […] it can spot potholes quicker, speed up planning applications [and job centre form filling], help in the fight against tax avoidance and almost halve the time social workers spend on paperwork,” said Starmer.

“This means they can refocus on the care and connection aspects of their job that so often get buried beneath the bureaucracy.”

Impact on social work

What data exists on the impact of AI on social workers’ admin time comes from local authority pilots of different tools.

For example, when piloting an AI tool in 2024, Swindon Council found it reduced the average time to conduct a Care Act assessment conversation from 90 to 35 minutes and time spent on follow-up case notes from four to one-and-a-half hours.

However, it is too soon to draw definitive conclusions from these initiatives, while there are also widespread concerns about the ethical implications of AI in social work, including in relation to potential bias and the privacy of those practitioners work with.

‘More research needed’

But what do social workers think of the government’s plans to incorporate AI into its reform plans for public services?

The majority of practitioners (66%) in a Community Care poll with over 600 votes seemed mostly positive about the prospect. However, while 16% gave their fully support, on the grounds that AI had been “proven to boost productivity, half of respondents said more research was needed to “understand potential risks”.

One-third of readers said AI would cause “more harm than good”. 

Calls for regulation

Social work bodies, including the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), have previously called for the regulation of AI to address the ethical implications amid its increasing use in the sector.

“Right now the onus should be on the social work regulators to produce guidance for using AI and on the government for centrally regulating AI,” said Social Workers Union general secretary John McGowan in October last year.

“This would put protections in place for social workers and the people and families they support, as this technology has known issues, including biases, presenting false or misleading information as fact, data governance and growing concerns about environmental impact.”