After reading Reamer’s article, Artificial Intelligence in Social Work: Emerging Ethical Issues (2023), I was surprised by how far Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grown. One fact that made me uncomfortable while reading is how AI has helped clients who are at the point of a suicide attempt. In my workplace, I have been in a room where a client was feeling suicidal, and the clinician had to use careful wording and empathy to reach the client at an emotional level to bring them back from the edge. It is difficult to accept that AI has helped vulnerable clients and reduced client abandonment among clinicians. I have not experienced AI in my workplace and have lessened its use in my personal life due to concerns. After reading this article, if a client asked me about my ethical position on the use of AI, I would say it is a useful tool but beware of the limitations. Reamer mentions privacy and confidentiality should be protected even by third parties, and I questioned how it can be protected with a third party who provides AI. How can social workers be sure that client information will not be divulged due to technology errors with AI? Otherwise, I agree with Reamer on continuing training for social workers on AI, taking precautions, and evaluating the impacts of AI in the field and how far it can go.

Jonathan Haidt presented information detailing how technology has negatively impacted adolescents, and in my experience, they are not the only population. I work in the substance abuse field, where clients of different ages seek recovery. They mostly all have common behaviors that have impacted their recovery. As a counselor, I am constantly met with stories of how social media has triggered clients, leading to relapse. It is less often seen in older adults, but prevalent in the ages 20s to 50s. The most common platforms that clients mention are Facebook and Instagram. They see posts that glorify drugs and then send messages to have access to those drugs. My experience aligns with Haidt’s evidence on how social media does harm the population, but I also think social media has helped clients. In the substance abuse population, I noticed how social media can be used as a coping mechanism, which can lead to several negative factors. Clients can experience isolation and comparison with their counterparts when there is excessive use of Facebook or Instagram. It then turns to anxiety and depression, which then turns to coping with drugs. In clinical practice, I would encourage families, couples, and groups to develop healthier coping skills that do not heavily rely on social media. It is also about having clear boundaries on how to safely use social media and maintaining those boundaries. Furthermore, social media has helped clients develop deeper connections with their family and friends through the use of Facebook and Instagram. Technology is a powerful tool that can help different populations in several ways, but we have to understand how to use it and when to know it is harming instead of helping.

References

Reamer, F. G. (2023). Artificial Intelligence in Social Work: Emerging Ethical Issues. International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 20(2), 52-71.  https://doi.org/10.55521/10-020-205

Haidt, J., & Rausch, Z. (2026, April 9). The case against social media: Seven lines of evidence. After Babel. https://www.afterbabel.com/p/seven-lines-of-evidence-against-social-media?r=32tyct&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

Reamer, F.G. (2023). Boundary issues. Advances in Social Work, 23(2), 382-391. https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/advancesinsocialwork/article/view/26358/25414