by Allan Barsky, JD, MSW, PhD
Javier, Ulla, Sylvie, and Tyrone (JUST) are engaged on a bunch presentation for a web based course on using cognitive behavioral remedy (CBT) in social work apply. They determine to make use of synthetic intelligence (AI) packages to develop their presentation, together with the content material and method of presentation. They first ask ChatGPT to develop a written introduction to using ChatGPT. They then use one other AI program to develop avatars that may current the introduction, in addition to a professional-looking role-play to exhibit using CBT in an interplay between avatars taking part in the roles of social employee and consumer. The avatars look and sound similar to Ulla and Tyrone. JUST additionally units up a chatbot utilizing AI to reply text-based questions submitted by different class members. Avatars trying and sounding like Javier and Sylvie reply to the questions. We all know that these college students are JUST (pun supposed), however are they performing ethically?
Is it Basically Unethical to Use AI?
Individuals who query BSW or MSW college students’ use of AI to finish assignments could view such conduct as dishonest: “College students are speculated to do the work themselves and submit their very own authentic work. Submitting the work of others, together with AI, is dishonest.” Course syllabi and college insurance policies have lengthy had insurance policies prohibiting plagiarism (submitting the work of others and presenting it as one’s personal). Till not too long ago, nonetheless, course syllabi and insurance policies haven’t particularly handled using AI to help with or full assignments.
Definitely, if a professor asks college students to not use AI for assignments and college students accomplish that surreptitiously, then college students have infringed the precept of educational integrity (cf., NASW, 2021, s.4.04). The violation is not only that college students used AI, however moderately, that they have been dishonest with their professor and breached the phrases of the syllabus (which is sort of a contract between the professor and college students). This begs the query: Are there ways in which college students could use AI in a way that isn’t solely moral, however in a way that proves to be extra helpful than finishing assignments with out using AI?
Ought to Professors Prohibit or Discourage Use of AI?
Some professors have began utilizing packages reminiscent of “Turnitin” to assist determine whether or not college students are utilizing AI of their written assignments. This strategy focuses on figuring out college students who cheat, hoping to discourage dishonest and offering proof when professors consider college students should be held accountable. Different professors have began embracing using AI by college students. For some, the rationale for embracing AI could also be that college students are already utilizing it, and even when there are some methods to detect surreptitious use of AI, new AI packages are consistently being developed and it’s changing into tougher for AI-detection packages to precisely detect its use. For others, the rationale could also be that AI could be appeared upon as a useful gizmo moderately than an unethical trick.
Social staff and numerous well being care professionals are already utilizing AI in apply (Kumar et al., 2022). As an example, professionals can submit biopsychosocial data that they’ve gathered from purchasers and ask an AI program to supply an evaluation or prognosis. The professionals can then evaluate the product supplied by AI and be certain that its evaluation or prognosis is legitimate and dependable. Though some individuals query whether or not AI and digital know-how can exhibit empathy and heat to purchasers, social robots and chatbots could be programmed with ambient intelligence, serving to them to exhibit presence and responsiveness to the individuals they’re serving (Barsky, 2022; Kumar et al., 2022). If professionals and social work businesses are already utilizing AI in apply, why not encourage moderately than discourage college students from utilizing AI throughout their research?
Does the Ethics of Utilizing AI Rely upon Studying Targets?
Proponents of AI could argue that AI is just a instrument that college students ought to discover ways to use, simply as they’ve discovered the way to use computer systems for writing papers, on-line search engines like google for figuring out related scholarly articles and analysis, and stats packages for analyzing quantitative analysis knowledge. Are you able to think about if analysis professors requested college students to calculate all their stats with out the help of computer systems, or if college students have been required to submit all their essays in handwritten cursive?
There was a time when educators expressed considerations about college students utilizing slide guidelines and calculators in math courses, and once they mourned the potential lack of cursive as college students discovered to rely extra on digital know-how for writing. Though some educators proceed to mourn these modifications and potential losses, educators have come to simply accept and embrace using many new types of know-how.
When educators are contemplating whether or not to permit, encourage, discourage, or prohibit using numerous types of know-how, they need to contemplate the training targets for every task or studying exercise that they’re setting up. If JUST’s professor wished college students to discover ways to use AI to analysis using CBT, then utilizing AI for this task could be acceptable. If the professor wished them to discover ways to use AI with avatars, then their use of AI would even be acceptable. If, nonetheless, the professor had purpose to show the scholars the way to conduct their very own literature critiques or the way to interact purchasers in CBT with out using AI, then it must be acceptable for the professor to assemble assignments in a approach that college students full these assignments with out AI.
Though AI can be utilized to carry out a literature evaluate, college students nonetheless have to be taught this competency with out the help of AI. AI is much from excellent in setting up literature critiques. AI could collect and depend on analysis and different data that isn’t legitimate and dependable. It could be programmed in a way that has biases towards sure people or teams. As an example, its algorithms could concentrate on analysis associated to some cultural teams and neglect analysis associated to others.
When it comes to utilizing avatars to exhibit CBT apply abilities, college students could also be shedding the chance to apply and develop abilities that they might want to interact purchasers of their discipline internships and future apply. Though some purchasers use AI packages for providers associated to social work, most social work providers are nonetheless provided by social staff moderately than by AI. Programming avatars definitely requires information and talent; nonetheless, studying the way to talk with purchasers in particular person or by way of videoconferencing requires a unique set of abilities. Asking college students to have interaction in dwell motion role-plays (moderately than animated ones) can assist them develop these abilities.
Is the Use of AI an Both/Or Proposition?
Though questions on using AI and different know-how could also be framed as both/or questions, these questions suggest a false alternative. It’s definitely potential for professors to combine using AI with different forms of studying, and it’s definitely potential for social staff to combine using AI with extra guide (nonautomated) types of apply with purchasers. A professor would possibly ask college students to make use of AI to write down an preliminary draft of an task after which critique the essay that AI produced.
I requested ChatGPT to write down an essay, with references, on whether or not it was moral for social staff to have interaction in sexual relationships with purchasers. The essay appropriately described why having intercourse with purchasers was unethical. Nonetheless, the essay had numerous limitations. It quoted from a dated model of the Nationwide Affiliation of Social Staff [NASW] Code of Ethics and cited psychology literature moderately than social work literature. It didn’t differentiate between scientific and macro apply, and a number of the paragraphs contained repetitive data. Moreover, it didn’t cite a number of the main specialists on this matter.
If this have been a classroom task, I might additionally ask college students to rewrite the essay by attending to the constraints and considerations they’d recognized. With regard to JUST’s presentation with avatars, college students might observe the avatars as a studying train, mirror on what they discovered, after which apply their social work abilities by performing dwell role-plays.
The place Do We Go From Right here?
From an moral perspective, the straightforward reality of “utilizing” or “not utilizing” AI doesn’t dictate whether or not social work college students are performing ethically. Equally, there are each moral and unethical methods wherein college students can use videoconferencing, digital information, digital actuality (Minguela-Get better et al., 2023), and different types of know-how (NASW et al., 2017). In regard to honesty and integrity, college students mustn’t surreptitiously submit work produced by AI when their professor’s directions or course syllabi instruct them not to take action. When college students have good causes to make use of AI, they’ll talk about these with their professors and collectively decide whether or not sure assignments could be reconceptualized to permit for using AI.
College students could have many inventive and helpful solutions for incorporating AI into their studying, and there could also be methods of incorporating AI with out sacrificing the advantages of performing assignments with out AI. Professors can also interact college students in discussions of the ethics of AI, together with points associated to knowledgeable consent; managing dangers and advantages; and guaranteeing that AI respects the dignity, price, range, and confidentiality of the individuals it’s serving (Barsky, 2023; NASW, 2021).
When AI is constructed and used appropriately, it might serve us properly as a instrument for training and apply. When there are issues within the methods AI is constructed or used, then purchasers, college students, practitioners, professors, and communities could also be put in danger. We will empower ourselves and the individuals we serve by understanding the probabilities and limitations of AI and by taking part in lively roles in its improvement and use.
Acknowledgement: Thanks to my daughter, Adelle Barsky-Moore, for sharing her insights right into a present college scholar’s views and makes use of of AI. For instance, she taught me how college students might use AI to develop examine guides to organize for exams, and the way to cross-check together with her textbook to make sure that the data within the examine information is correct. For different examples of how college students use ChatGPT, please see Terry (2023).
Full disclosure: I didn’t use AI to finish this text. I did use spell-check and grammar-check utilities on MS Phrase. I have no idea whether or not I’ve any possession curiosity in any explicit AI corporations. I don’t personal their shares instantly, however it’s potential that I’ve fairness in them by way of mutual fund investments. The JUST individuals cited on this article are fictional. They weren’t members of my class. In the event that they have been, it could have been fantastic to help their inventive efforts with AI and be certain that they have been studying the talents they should apply ethically and successfully.
References
Barsky, A. E. (2022, January). Ethics alive! The ethics of SocBots: Imagining Siri and Alexa as the subsequent era of social staff. The New Social Employee, 29(1), 4-5. https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/ethics-articles/ethics-socbots-imagining-siri-alexa-next-generation-social-workers
Barsky, A. E. (2023). Important ethics for social work apply. Oxford College Press.
Kumar, Y., Koul, A., Singla, R., & Ijaz, M. F. (2022). Synthetic intelligence in illness prognosis: A scientific literature evaluate, synthesizing framework and future analysis agenda. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanizing Computer systems, 13, 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12652-021-03612-z
McMurtrie, E. (2023, February 2). Instructing: Rethinking analysis papers, and different responses to ChatGPT. The Chronicle of Greater Schooling. https://www.chronicle.com/publication/educating/2023-02-02?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=e mail&utm_campaign=campaign_6088609_nl_Academe-Today_date_20230203&cid=at&supply=&sourceid=&cid2=gen_login_refresh
Minguela-Get better, A., Baena-Pérez, R., & Mota-Macías, J. (2022). The function of 360º digital actuality in social intervention: An extra contribution to the theory-practice relationship of social work research. Social Work Schooling. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2022.2115998
Nationwide Affiliation of Social Staff. (2021). Code of ethics. Creator. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
Nationwide Affiliation of Social Staff (NASW), Council on Social Work Schooling, Affiliation of Social Work Boards, and Scientific Social Work Affiliation. (2017). Requirements for know-how and social work apply. https://www.socialworkers.org/Apply/Apply-Requirements-Tips
Terry, O. Okay. (2023, Could 24). I’m a scholar. You don’t have any thought how a lot we’re utilizing ChatGPT. The Chronicle of Greater Schooling. https://www.chronicle.com/article/im-a-student-you-have-no-idea-how-much-were-using-chatgpt?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=e mail&utm_campaign=campaign_6893319_nl_Academe-Today_date_20230524&cid=at&supply=&sourceid=&sra=true
Allan Barsky, PhD, JD, MSW, is Professor of Social Work at Florida Atlantic College and writer of Social Work Values and Ethics (Oxford College Press).
The views expressed on this article don’t essentially symbolize the views of any of the organizations to which the writer is affiliated, or the views of The New Social Employee journal or White Hat Communications.
