Abstract: As artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things are becoming increasingly embedded in social governance and public services, the traditional “human-centered” professional relationship in social work is facing systematic theoretical and practical challenges. The nonhuman turn that emerged in the late twentieth century provides important theoretical resources for social work to break through the constraints of anthropocentrism. Based on a review of the theoretical frameworks of posthumanism, actor-network theory, and new materialism, this article reconstructs and reflects upon the professional relationships in social work. Specifically, at the ontological level, professional relationships shift from a subject-centered interactional model to relational networks co-produced by multiple actors. At the epistemological level, knowledge production extends beyond its reliance on human experience and takes on a distributed character shaped jointly by data, algorithms, and material environments. And at the methodological level, practice shifts from linear intervention to relational engagement. However, this theoretical shift also brings practical challenges, including increased complexity and uncertainty, as well as the reconfiguration of professional identity and the blurring boundaries of ethical responsibility. It is therefore necessary to construct a “human–nonhuman coexistent” paradigm of professional relationships in order to respond to the professional crises, value reconstruction, and paradigm transformation of social work in the digital and intelligent era.

Key words: nonhuman turn, professional relationship in social work, “human–nonhuman coexistent” professional relationship