I spent the weekend playing with ChatGPT, MidJourney, and other AI tools… and by combining all of them, published a children’s book co-written and illustrated by AI! The Data Protection Act provides some legal safeguards on using personal data – one of which is that organisations must let people know how their details and profile are being used. Maris Stratulis, national director of the British Association of Social Workers England, first voiced concerns last year. She remains worried. “Machine learning in social care still raises significant issues about how we want to engage with children and families,” she says. “Reports on its use in other countries have shown mixed results including potential unethical profiling of groups of people.” Machine learning is an application of artificial intelligence (AI). Computer systems enable councils to number-crunch vast amounts of data from a variety of sources, such as police records, housing benefit files, social services, education or – where it is made available – the NHS. In children’s services, a council may ask for analysis of specific risk factors which social workers would otherwise not know, such as a family getting behind on the rent, which can then be triangulated with other data such as school attendance.

The key issue from a purely evaluative perspective is whether machine learning will perform better than traditional analysis. Sanders believes it may in some cases, though he stresses the jury remains out, which would then trigger the further question of practitioners’ ability to understand the data without having a doctorate in statistics. What Works for Children’s Social Care, part of the network of government-funded What Works centres, is examining the effectiveness of predictive analysis in the sector. Preliminary results from one of six councils being studied have shown that its predictions are “pretty accurate”, according to the centre’s executive director, Michael Sanders. But he is yet to be convinced that they really offer value for money. “People are spending money buying in these services even when they are short of cash,” he says. “They have been promised a silver bullet, but there are no silver bullets.”The book was "written" in 2022 by Ammaar Reshi, a product design manager from the San Francisco Bay area. "Written" is in quotes because Reshi created the book using various AI programs instead of more traditional writing and illustration methods. The text of the story was primarily generated using ChatGPT , while the imagery was primarily generated using Midjourney . The book was completed and published over the course of a single weekend. This is a story about a young girl named Alice who discovers the magic of artificial intelligence. She creates her own AI, named Sparkle, and together they go on adventures and use their combined knowledge to make the world a better place. Alice and Sparkle is a children's picture book about a young girl named Alice who creates an artificially intelligent robot named Sparkle. The two go on an adventure where they learn about both the potential benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence.

The story explores the incredible abilities of AI and the importance of using them for good. It is a tale of friendship and exploration, filled with magic and wonder.” Stratulis is also concerned at the role of profit-making companies in the new techniques. “Rather than focusing on learning from machines and algorithms, let’s focus on good, relationship-based social work practice,” she says. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which regulates the act, says it recognises that machine learning can present “some of the biggest risks related to the use of personal data”.

The debate has heated up even further with the announcement of Alice and Sparkle, created by design manager Ammaar Reshi. He completed the entire children’s book within a weekend using ChatGPT, MidJourney, and other AI tools.