Why Columbus is funding AI projects for social workers

Columbus is spending millions of dollars on new artificial intelligence to help the city's most vulnerable and the social workers who support them.

Why it matters: The programs are part of a broader regional effort to reduce poverty, though a lead organizer acknowledges that this new technology can only do so much in the face of major systemic problems.

State of play: Smart Columbus, a nonprofit focused on digital equity , is spearheading two city-funded projects meant to streamline the social services sector, executive director Jordan Davis tells us.

• One is a new AI tool to automate social workers' administrative tasks to reduce burnout and keep them focused on clients.

The other is an app that will organize a client's individual case needs and history, similar to OhioHealth's MyChart app for health care.

• A key function would be an AI-enabled search tool that Davis likens to "Expedia but for social programs."
• Case workers would plug in a person's financial and geographic details, then AI would link them to area programs they qualify for, such as utility bill assistance.

Between the lines: This project presumes residents have cell phones, reliable internet access and the tech savviness to navigate a new app.

• Davis thinks most do or can get help from family members and caseworkers.

Yes, but: "This is not a silver bullet solution," she recognizes.

• "This does not at all mask over the systemic issues that we have."

Flashback: The AI projects stem from Franklin County's 2019 "Blueprint for Reducing Poverty," which outlined widespread housing, job and transit problems and racial disparities.

• It featured an anonymous social worker who described feeling overworked and struggling to connect residents with public benefit programs.

Follow the money: The $5 million allocated by Columbus City Council is going to the RISE Together Innovation Institute, which was created to carry out the 2019 blueprint, but it's Smart Columbus leading the development.

• The money will fund a few years of work, but Davis expects more will be needed to complete it.

What they're saying: The social services "ecosystem" has lagged behind the business world when it comes to tech infrastructure, notes Danielle Sydnor, CEO of the institute.

• Projects like this, Sydnor tells us, can help social workers catch up.