University of Kentucky administrator David Durman was granted a religious exemption from using AI at work, claiming that use of the tech violates his religious beliefs as a humanist.
As Religion News Service reports, Durman maintains that outsourcing cognitive tasks to chatbots could interfere with his development as a “moral actor.” Assisted by the American Humanist Association (AHA), he applied for a religious exemption under Title VII, the federal civil rights law that forbids workplace discrimination and allows employees to apply for “religious accommodation,” and his request was accepted in September.
“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,” Durman told RNS. “And offloading that labor, regardless of whether it’s taxing or not, is undercutting my ability to be a moral actor.”
Durman isn’t the first American to obtain this kind of AI exemption. This summer, a software engineer and Unitarian Universalist in North Carolina named Erin Maus was also granted a religious exemption from using AI at work, with Maus saying that ethical and environmental concerns raised by AI violated her religious beliefs.
His approved exemption also comes as religious leaders around the world — most notably Pope Leo, who’s taken a stance against AI — grapple with what AI means for their faith.
In his letter to the University of Kentucky’s Office of Equal Opportunity requesting the exemption, Durman wrote that “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.”
Humanism isn’t an organized religion, but does qualify as a religion under federal statutes. The AHA told RNS that Durman, to its knowledge, is the first humanist to be granted an AI exemption.
“This is the first of its kind at the AHA and for humanism generally to exempt those who see AI use as flying in the face of their freedom of conscience,” Alexandria Huiskens, an AHA attorney, told RNS.
“For us, humanism is a comprehensive way of life,” she added. “It’s built on inherent worth and dignity, and everyone should have room to exercise this comprehensive way of life at work the same way Christians do, or Muslims do.”
Durman’s reasoning is reminiscent of “cognitive surrender,” the term coined by Massachusetts Institution of Technology scientists that describes humans farming out their mental agency to AI tools. By refusing to outsource his critical thinking skills, Durman contends, he’ll be able to center his life and agency around humans.
More on AI and religion: You Can Now Get a Religious Exemption From Using AI at Work
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