Man Wins First-of-Its-Kind Religious Exemption from Mandatory AI Use at Work

David Durman, a research administrator at the University of Kentucky, has received an exemption from a workplace requirement to use AI tools. He argued that relying on large language models such as ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot would shift work of reasoning and decision-making away from him. For Durman, working through ethical and interpersonal questions himself is essential to developing as a moral person, so outsourcing that thinking conflicts with his deeply held humanist beliefs. The American Humanist Association helped him seek the accommodation and describes it as the first of its kind for a humanist objecting to AI use.

The exemption is based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects employees from religious discrimination; courts have recognized humanism as a religion for this purpose. A worker’s conviction must be sincere and profound, and an accommodation cannot impose undue hardship on the employer. Durman is excused from personally using AI for his tasks, but must still cooperate with colleagues who use it, attend related meetings, and provide materials for AI processing when required. His case arrives as workplace AI adoption spreads, despite uncertain financial returns for many companies. Durman hopes it encourages discussion and gives employees who object to mandatory AI use a path to request accommodation.