AI is becoming increasingly relevant to social work, with applications ranging from documentation and communication support to the planning and delivery of services. These technologies offer new possibilities, but also raise important questions about reliability, accessibility, and accountability. Understanding AI therefore means more than knowing how it works. It means being able to assess its benefits and risks, question its outcomes, and influence how it is used.

Engaging with AI: Knowledge, Benefits, and Risks for Social Work brings together social work and computer science to make these questions accessible and practical. Through explanations and twelve fictional characters based on the authors’ interviews, the book connects technical concepts to situations encountered in everyday life and professional practice. Role-based reading paths help social workers, policy makers, advocates, auditors, clients, and relatives and carers focus on what they need to understand, what they should examine, and how they can contribute to decisions. Disability offers a particularly revealing lens on AI's benefits and risks, showing how these technologies can improve access and independence or create new barriers, depending on whose needs and experiences inform their design. Through a practical exploration of transport and mobility, the book examines how AI-supported tools and services can affect the ability of persons with disabilities to reach work, appointments, and community activities. Reflection questions, practical exercises, and role-specific reference cards help readers put this knowledge into practice. From reviewing AI-generated records and questioning recommendations to evaluating technology purchases and contributing to more accessible services, the book offers concrete ways to engage with AI.

It equips students, practitioners, and other stakeholders with the knowledge and practical tools to make informed decisions about when and how AI can support social work

Jörgen Lundälv, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Social Work and a disability researcher at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. He is also Associate Professor in Traffic Medicine at Umeå University in Sweden.

Yinan Yu is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science and Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology and a technical fellow and research leader at the Center for Digital Health, Sahlgrenska University Hospital.