Working with Human Advocates, Support Workers and Lawyers While Using AI
AI can be a helpful tool for: drafting letters, organising timelines, practising hard conversations, and simplifying long documents. But AI is not a disability advocate, a support worker, a lawyer or legal representative, a therapist or crisis service. Most people will need both human support and digital tools.
This article explores how to combine AI with human help in ways that protect your safety and rights, respect lived experience, and reduce workload instead of adding to it.
Why you still need humans, even if AI feels helpful
AI can feel easier than people because it’s available anytime, doesn’t get tired or impatient, doesn’t need your whole life story, and won’t be hurt if you walk away. But humans bring legal and ethical responsibilities, relational care, cultural knowledge, and the ability to act in the real world. Human advocates can stand beside you, notice distress, pick up power dynamics, and name unsafe or discriminatory options — things AI cannot do.
A Simple Way to Think About Roles
AI as Assistant
AI helps you get words onto the page
Think of AI as your admin and drafting assistant — good for structuring ideas and reducing text overload.
Humans as Safety and Strategy
Humans help you decide what’s safe
Human advocates, support workers, and lawyers guide decisions, hold risk, and ensure ethical, safe strategies.
When in Doubt
Humans handle rights, risks, and safety
Anything involving legal, safety, or discrimination issues belongs with humans — AI supports preparation, not action.
How AI Can Support You Before and After Appointments
AI can help you summarise your story, build timelines, or prepare questions before seeing an advocate. Afterward, it can turn notes into clear summaries or draft follow-up emails.
Working Together and Staying Transparent
Tell your advocate how you’re using AI, and ask how they’d like to collaborate. Many workers welcome AI as a load-reducing tool, not a replacement. Always review AI drafts together for safety and accuracy.
Working with Lawyers: Extra Care
AI can help you organise notes and draft questions, but lawyers must lead on legal strategy, filings, and interpretations. If AI and lawyer advice differ, always follow the lawyer’s lead.
When Advice Doesn’t Match
If AI’s suggestion conflicts with your advocate or lawyer, prioritise human advice. Use AI to implement the agreed plan — not to argue with it.
You can tell AI: “My advocate advised me to do X. Please draft a letter that fits that plan. Don’t suggest different strategies.”
Using AI as a Professional
If you’re an advocate, support worker, or lawyer, you can use AI ethically by avoiding identifiable details, anonymising stories, and being transparent with clients about how it’s used. Always keep human judgment central.
Mapping Tasks: AI vs Human
AI is best for summarising, drafting, and organising; humans handle safety, risk, and emotional support. Many tasks are shared — AI drafts, humans review. The goal is teamwork between tools and people.
Boundaries and Consent
You can set clear boundaries about when and how AI is used. It’s okay to say no to certain uses or to ask supporters not to input full details into AI tools. You decide what’s comfortable for you.
You are not meant to navigate systems alone — not with AI, and not without it. The strongest setup is you, your community, human advocates, and careful digital tools. Let AI carry some of the admin weight while humans hold the strategy, safety, and heart of advocacy work.