The AI in Social Care Alliance was created out of the Oxford Project on AI in social care.
In March 2026, stakeholder’s gathered at the second AI in Social Care Summit convened by Digital Care Hub, The Institute for Ethics in AI and Casson Consulting.
Delegates agreed the following vision, principles and priority actions for the AI in Social Care Alliance.
Our vision
The AI in Social Care Alliance exists because we believe in a future where AI serves social care, strengthens human connection and where the people closest to care — those who give it, draw on it, and live it every day — have a genuine voice in shaping the tools that affect their lives.
We also believe in clear responsibility and accountability for the use of AI in caregiving.
We envision AI that enables person-led care, in which human connection stays at the forefront. AI that understands that care is relational, contextual, and deeply human and that technology’s role is to support those qualities, not to automate them away.
Our founding principles
The Alliance is built on a philosophy of co-production and our definition of responsible AI in social care:
“The ‘responsible use of (generative) AI in social care’ means that the use of AI systems in the care or related to the care of people, supports and does not undermine, harm or breach fundamental values of care, including human rights, independence, choice and control, dignity, equality and wellbeing.”
This is not a network where technologists design solutions and care professionals are consulted afterwards. It is one where every voice — people who draw on care, unpaid carers, care workers, technologists, researchers, and policymakers — shapes our direction from the outset.
What we stand for
- Person-led care: AI should amplify the voice, agency, and dignity of the person at the centre of care. Technology supports — it does not direct, override, or replace human judgement and connection.
- Co-production: We are based on diverse experiences, opinions, and lived experience — from formal care professionals to unpaid family carers and people who draw on care — as equal partners in shaping our work.
- Human connection at the front. The most powerful care happens in relationships. AI should strengthen those relationships, not insert itself between people or reduce care to a set of optimised transactions.
- Honest about power. We recognise that AI in care is not neutral. It can reinforce existing inequalities, entrench poor practice, or concentrate power in the hands of technology vendors. We commit to naming these risks openly and working to prevent them.
- Positive about possibility. We believe AI can genuinely improve people’s lives in care — enabling independence, reducing isolation, supporting carers, and giving people greater ownership of their care. We lead with this possibility while staying clear-eyed about the risks.
What we will do
The Alliance is a network that shares, learns, and acts together. We are not a think tank that produces reports; we are a community of practice that builds, tests, and advocates for AI that genuinely serves social care.
1.Develop an AI constitution for social care
We will co-produce a living constitution — a set of principles, commitments, and red lines that define what good AI in social care looks like. This constitution will be developed through deliberation with people across the care ecosystem and will serve as a shared reference point for providers, commissioners, technologists, and policymakers.
- What it is: A clear, accessible statement of values and commitments that organisations can adopt, adapt, and be held accountable to.
- What it is not: A compliance checklist. It is a living document that evolves with our understanding.
2. Create practical guidance for providers
Care providers are already encountering AI — in rostering software, monitoring systems, care planning tools, and more — often without clear guidance on what safe and ethical use looks like. We will produce:
- Regulatory navigation: Clear, jargon-free guidance on existing and emerging AI regulation as it applies to social care settings, including an assessment of whether a dedicated Social Care Commission on AI regulation is needed.
- Practical implementation guides: Step-by-step frameworks for introducing, evaluating, and governing AI tools in care settings.
- Positive case studies: Documented examples of AI working well in care — where it has supported person-led care, improved outcomes, or empowered carers. These will serve as proof points and inspiration.
3. Build a research and co-production hub
We will become a place where researchers and technology companies connect with the care community for genuine co-production — not extractive consultation, but partnership.
- Collate and curate existing research on AI in social care, making it accessible to non-academic audiences.
- Commission and support new research, particularly practice-based and participatory research that centres the experiences of people in care.
- Pioneer 4th-generation evaluation approaches for care — moving beyond efficiency metrics to relational, person-centred measures of what good care actually looks like.
- Facilitate global policy research, learning from how different countries and cultures are approaching AI in care.
4. Promote training and capacity building
AI literacy in the care sector is uneven. Many care workers, managers, and people who draw on care feel excluded from the conversation. We will:
- Curate and promote training resources that build AI confidence across the care workforce.
- Develop resources specifically for people who draw on care and unpaid carers, ensuring they are active participants rather than passive recipients of AI decisions.
- Support care organisations in building internal capacity to evaluate, adopt, and govern AI tools.
5. Convene and connect
The AI and Social Care Summit demonstrated the power of bringing diverse voices together. We will sustain this momentum:
- A 3rd AI and Social Care Summit, building on the energy and insights of the first two events, with a broader and more diverse participant base.
- Regular working group sessions between summits, focused on specific priorities.
- An open network where members can share experiences, challenges, and successes in real time.
Further details
We will share further details, including how to get involved, via the Digital Care Hub newsletter and this website.
Published 15 April 2026
