No Belief in a God Required? A Humanist Wins an Exemption From Using AI at Work

What happened

According to TechCrunch, David Durman, an administrator at the University of Kentucky, recently obtained a religious exemption from using AI in the workplace. A religious exemption means an employer agrees to adjust its work requirements for an employee because of the employee's faith or beliefs; such an adjustment is called an accommodation. Durman is a non-theistic humanist; humanism is a belief system centered on human wellbeing and development, and it does not require belief in a god. The report says he reached out to the American Humanist Association (AHA), a nonprofit that promotes secular humanism, to learn how to obtain legal protection from having to use AI, because he felt using the technology went against his beliefs.

TechCrunch notes that Durman is the first humanist to obtain this kind of work arrangement and one of the first to speak publicly about it. He was inspired by another case: the report says Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist and software engineer, has already secured similar protection.

The applicant's reasoning and the AHA's view

TechCrunch relays that Durman believes people become moral agents by actively using their minds, and that relying on AI weakens that capacity; he also spoke of how overreliance on AI may affect critical thinking. According to the report, in a statement published by the AHA he wrote that AI is getting in the way of people making a living, that its environmental cost could spell disaster for humanity and the planet, and that AI replacing and stealing human creative work threatens elements of our culture like art and literature.

AHA attorney Alexandria Huiskens told TechCrunch that concerns about AI and human dignity appear across many faiths and traditions, including Catholic teaching, Universalism and humanism. She wants humanists and non-theists to know they are equally protected by law in the workplace. TechCrunch also mentions that Pope Leo XIV has criticized AI as a threat to human dignity. The report explains that humanism is not anti-religion; it appeals to people who doubt a god or supernatural forces but still seek a scientific and ethical framework.

The university's position and limits

According to TechCrunch, university spokesperson Jay Blanton said the school reviews religious accommodation requests case by case, taking into account the employee's duties and the circumstances of the request. He said the university determined it could provide an accommodation while allowing the employee to continue performing the essential functions of the position; as technology and job responsibilities evolve, the accommodation may be reviewed to ensure it remains reasonable and workable.

The report also notes that Durman helps researchers apply for grants and is not currently required to use AI. However, some colleagues and supervisors have suggested that employees try AI tools, so he applied in advance in case the suggestion later becomes a requirement. The report considers Maus's situation rarer, since software engineers today seldom write code entirely without AI.

What it means for ordinary readers

The report shows that as AI tools spread through workplaces, some people are beginning to ask to opt out on grounds of belief. According to the AHA attorney, such protection is not limited to followers of traditional religions. But the report also shows that outcomes are assessed individually based on the job, and the university says it may revisit the arrangement, so this should not be seen as a right everyone automatically has.

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