#47 The AI Social Worker: Marina Badillo-Diaz

Make It Mindful: Insights for Global Education

In this episode of Make It Mindful, Seth Fleischauer sits down with Marina Badillo-Diaz, known as the "AI Social Worker," to discuss how artificial intelligence can support social work within schools. They explore the ethical concerns and transformative potential of AI tools in enhancing efficiency for social workers and educators alike, especially when faced with the post-pandemic mental health crisis. Marina shares practical examples, from using AI to streamline IEP goals to supporting administrative tasks, and emphasizes the importance of maintaining ethical standards while integrating technology into social work.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The intersection of social work and AI: ethics, efficiency, and innovation.
• AI applications for school social workers, including IEP refinement and event planning.
• The significance of relationship-building and mindfulness in student mental health.
• Emerging tech solutions like VR role-playing to prepare new social work practitioners.
• Strategies to support overburdened social workers and teachers in post-pandemic schools.

Guest Bio: Marina Badillo-Diaz, also known as the AI Social Worker, is a school social worker and consultant focused on leveraging technology responsibly to support social work practices. She advocates for ethical AI use in education and provides resources for social workers to integrate tech effectively.

Host Bio: Seth Fleischauer is the founder of Banyan Global Learning and a dedicated advocate for teaching digital and cultural competencies through a global lens to foster meaningful educational change.

Episode Links:

• Marina’s Guidebook on AI Prompting for Social Work Practice: mabdconsulting.com