You don’t need to believe in a god to get a religious exemption from using AI at work

David Durman, a University of Kentucky administrator and nontheistic Humanist, has received a workplace religious accommodation allowing him to abstain from using artificial intelligence. The American Humanist Association said Durman is the first Humanist known to secure such an accommodation and among the first people to publicly describe seeking these protections. Durman supports researchers applying for grants and was not required to use AI, but sought the exemption after colleagues and leaders encouraged employees to try AI tools. Durman says Humanist beliefs in human well-being, flourishing, and the active use of human minds conflict with AI use. He argues that overreliance on AI could weaken critical thinking, while AI also threatens jobs, carries environmental costs, and can supplant or appropriate human creativity. The American Humanist Association says legal workplace protections can extend to Humanists and nontheists whose convictions about AI and human dignity align with sincerely held religious or ethical beliefs. University of Kentucky spokesperson Jay Blanton said the university considers religious-accommodation requests individually, based on job duties and the circumstances involved. The university determined that Durman could receive an accommodation while continuing to perform his position’s essential functions, and said accommodations may be reassessed as technology and job responsibilities change. Durman was inspired in part by Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist software engineer who obtained similar protections.