Current options and limits of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in social work

Abstract

At the end of the second decade of the 21st century, it was accepted that robots and technology would replace mainly blue-collar and routine jobs, while professionals in human well-being and creativity would be needed in greater numbers. New tools like AI large language models, which are at the beginning of an exponential trajectory of their development, have changed the way digitization is viewed; people employed in activities such as writing as well as administrative and clerical work have started to lose their jobs. Will technologies become aids and supplements to services, or can they replace social workers? The paper aims to analyse the current limits of artificial intelligence in social work and summarize digital platforms useful for social work practice. The methods used are the analysis of literature and statistics and an experiment with artificial intelligence. Language model Chat GPT passed the state final examination for the bachelor’s degree in social work in Slovakia. It received a grade of B on the ECTS grading scale.