University of Kentucky administrator gets religious exemption from using AI at work

Centre · 2David Durman, a research administrator at the University of Kentucky, has been granted a religious accommodation that excuses him from personally using artificial intelligence at work, citing his humanist beliefs. 1 2 Centre · 2Durman had not actually been required to use AI. Newsweek and TechCrunch both report that colleagues and leadership encouraged employees to try the tools, and that Durman sought the accommodation in advance in case that became a mandate. 1 2 Right · 1Breitbart, the only right-leaning outlet covering the story, describes it differently: it says the university "had been asking employees to use AI tools, including ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot" and that Durman won an exemption from an "AI mandate", citing Tom's Hardware and Religion News Service. 3

Centre · 1According to the American Humanist Association (AHA), which helped prepare the request, Durman approached it in late August, met the university's Office of Equal Opportunity in mid-September, and had the request approved on September 25 after the university found it would not impose an undue burden on his department. 1 Centre · 2The AHA says this is the first known workplace AI accommodation granted to a humanist. Durman was inspired by Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist software engineer in North Carolina who, according to Business Insider, received a similar accommodation in May. 1 2 Centre · 2Durman describes humanism as centred on human well-being and flourishing. He objects mainly to generative AI and large language models, arguing that they involve "the offloading of cognitive ability" and that relying on them diminishes people's capacity to act as moral agents. In an AHA statement he also cited AI's effects on jobs, the environment and human creativity. 1 2

Centre · 1The accommodation has limits. Per Religion News Service, as relayed by Newsweek, Durman may still be expected to attend meetings involving AI, work with colleagues who use it, or submit materials through sites that use it, but he is excused from personally using AI to do his work. 1 Centre · 2University spokesperson Jay Blanton said religious accommodation requests are reviewed individually, considering the employee's job responsibilities and the circumstances of the request. He said the university determined an accommodation could be provided while the employee continued performing the essential functions of the position, and that accommodations may be reviewed as technology and job responsibilities evolve. 2 1 Centre · 1Newsweek adds context: the university runs a university-wide AI framework called CATS AI and, according to a Microsoft case study, has standardised on Microsoft Copilot tools. Newsweek notes this does not mean Durman himself was required to use them. 1

Centre · 1Newsweek also sets out the legal framework. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to reasonably accommodate religious practices unless doing so would cause undue hardship. The EEOC says this covers sincerely held religious, ethical or moral beliefs, including uncommon ones. Under the Supreme Court's 2023 Groff v. DeJoy ruling, an employer must show "substantial increased costs" to claim undue hardship. 1 Right · 1Breitbart adds that humanism is often described as a secular philosophy rather than a religion, but that federal courts have previously ruled it qualifies as one for legal purposes. It quotes AHA attorney Alexandria Huiskens saying humanists should have room to live their way of life at work "the same way Christians do, or Muslims do." 3 Centre · 2Both outlets link the case to wider religious concern about AI, including Pope Leo XIV's warnings about human dignity. Newsweek notes the pope has not called on Catholics to reject AI, and Michael Naughton of the University of St. Thomas told Business Insider it would be "probably going down the wrong alley" to read the pope's remarks as a right to refuse AI at work. Newsweek also reports that opposition to AI is not a tenet shared by all humanists. 1 2

Centre · 1Durman says he is not trying to tell others how to think. He hopes people with similar concerns will pursue a resolution, not necessarily a religious exemption. AHA staff attorney Alexandria Huiskens said she wants humanists and nontheists to know they are also protected by workplace law. 2 Right · 1Breitbart devotes its second half to commentary: it calls Durman's humanism "faith" "ironically" closer to the beliefs of AI evangelists and the Effective Altruism movement, and draws on Wynton Hall's book Code Red, which contrasts secular humanism and transhumanism with Judeo-Christian views of human nature. 3