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University of Kentucky grants humanist religious exemption from using AI at work

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University of Kentucky grants humanist religious exemption from using AI at work

A research administrator at the University of Kentucky has won a religious exemption from using AI at work, according to a Religion News Service report relayed by Gizmodo. The man is 45-year-old David Durman, who identifies as a humanist.

Durman told Religion News Service that being asked to use AI tools such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, which the university reportedly encouraged its employees to use, undermined his belief in the importance of the human parts of life and ran counter to his wish to see human flourishing. He turned to the American Humanist Association, which helped him draft a request for a religious accommodation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Gizmodo describes Title VII as a federal law that requires employers to adjust work requirements for employees whose sincerely held religious beliefs conflict with their job duties. Because federal courts have found secular humanism to be a religion, Gizmodo explains, its members, Durman included, are eligible for the same protections as other faith groups and can request accommodations.

Durman's reasoning, as he gave it to Religion News Service, is about moral development: "The process and work involved in thinking through situations, through my work, through my ethics, through the way I handle other people, is a key component in being able to develop myself as a moral person. And offloading that labor, regardless of whether it’s taxing or not, is undercutting my ability to be a moral actor." In the letter he sent to the university's Office of Equal Opportunity with the request, he wrote that substituting automated machine processing for human presence, authentic listening and personal responsibility in his work directly conflicts with his obligation to uphold human dignity and flourishing as primary.

The university granted the accommodation. It excuses Durman from any requirement to use AI for his personal tasks, though he may still be required to attend meetings and cooperate with colleagues who do choose to use AI in their work.

Gizmodo says Durman is believed to be the first humanist to get an exemption from using AI, but not the first person of faith to do so. Earlier this year, Unitarian Universalist Erin Maus received an exemption from using AI for her software engineering job on the basis of her religious beliefs. Gizmodo adds, with some humour, that neither of them is a Catholic citing Pope Leo's pro-human encyclical, and closes with its own remark that Human Resources offices might want to start preparing for the AI opt-out.

Key facts

  • David Durman, 45, a research administrator at the University of Kentucky who identifies as a humanist, received a religious accommodation excusing him from any expectation to use AI in his work.
  • The American Humanist Association helped him draft the request under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act; he sent a letter to the university's Office of Equal Opportunity.
  • The accommodation covers his personal tasks; he may still have to attend meetings and cooperate with colleagues who use AI.
  • Gizmodo says Durman is believed to be the first humanist to get such an exemption; Unitarian Universalist Erin Maus received one earlier this year for her software engineering job.
  • The university reportedly encouraged employees to use tools such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.

Why it matters

The case shows a legal route for refusing AI at work that rests on religion rather than on performance or privacy. Gizmodo notes that federal courts have found secular humanism to be a religion, which puts humanists under the same Title VII protections as other faith groups. Durman is believed to be the first humanist to get an AI exemption, and Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist software engineer, got one earlier this year. Two such cases are enough for Gizmodo to suggest HR offices start preparing for the AI opt-out.

Who it affects

Directly, Durman, who is excused from any requirement to use AI for his personal tasks. Indirectly, employers that encourage or expect staff to use tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, such as the University of Kentucky, and their HR and equal opportunity offices, which would handle requests like his. Colleagues are touched too: Durman may still have to attend meetings and cooperate with coworkers who use AI.

How to use it

This is a report, not a guide, but it shows the steps Durman took. He turned to the American Humanist Association, which helped him draft a request for a religious accommodation under Title VII. He then submitted a letter to the university's Office of Equal Opportunity setting out why AI use conflicts with his obligations, in his words to uphold human dignity and flourishing as primary. The report does not say that other employees would get the same result.

How solid is it

The account comes from Gizmodo, which relays a Religion News Service report, and Durman's reasoning is his own as told to that outlet. The outcome, that the university granted the accommodation, is stated by Gizmodo. The date of the decision is not given. The claim that Durman is the first humanist to get such an exemption is hedged in the source as "believed". The legal explanations of Title VII and humanism's status as a religion are Gizmodo's description.

Risks and caveats

The accommodation is narrow as described: it excuses Durman from using AI for his personal tasks, and he may still need to attend meetings and work with colleagues who use AI. The source reports that the university "reportedly" encouraged AI use, so it does not establish a formal mandate. It gives no university statement, no terms or duration of the accommodation, and no count of other employees who have sought exemptions beyond Durman and Maus. Gizmodo's closing line about HR offices is its own remark, not a finding.

“Substituting automated machine processing for human presence, authentic listening, and personal responsibility in my work directly conflicts with my obligation to uphold human dignity and flourishing as primary.”

— David Durman, in his letter to the University of Kentucky's Office of Equal Opportunity