University of Kentucky grants first religious exemption from mandatory AI use
A research administrator has won a Title VII accommodation protecting him from using artificial intelligence at work, arguing that relying on AI tools contradicts his humanist beliefs about moral development.
David Durman, employed as a research administrator at the University of Kentucky, has obtained a religious accommodation exempting him from the institution's requirement that staff members adopt AI technologies. The exemption, granted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, marks the first known case of its kind, according to reporting by the Religion News Service.
Durman identifies as a humanist and contends that deploying AI systems such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot in his work would undermine his core convictions. He maintains that the intellectual and ethical labor involved in his job—deliberating through problems, making decisions, and navigating interpersonal dynamics—forms an essential part of his personal and moral growth.
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.
David Durman
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, and permits employers to grant religious accommodations to employees whose sincere beliefs conflict with job requirements. Although humanism is typically understood as a secular philosophy rather than a religious tradition, federal courts have determined that it qualifies as a religion for purposes of Title VII protection.