University of Kentucky Grants Humanist Employee Religious Exemption from AI Use
A University of Kentucky research administrator secured a Title VII exemption allowing him to refuse AI tools on religious grounds.
David Durman, a research administrator at the University of Kentucky, has been granted a religious exemption that frees him from using artificial‑intelligence tools in his job.
Durman, who identifies as a humanist, sought the exemption after the university began requiring staff to incorporate AI into their workflows. He told Religion News Service that the mandate violates humanist doctrine, which lists critical thinking and moral responsibility among its core values.
“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 said. “And offloading that labor, regardless of whether it’s taxing or not, is undercutting my ability to be a moral actor.”
With backing from the American Humanist Association, Durman invoked Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which obliges employers to provide reasonable accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs that conflict with job requirements. The university approved his request in September.
Durman noted that his request was partly inspired by Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist software engineer in North Carolina who also received a religious exemption from her employer.
The case highlights a growing tension as higher‑education institutions increase investment in AI technologies to improve teaching, learning, and administrative operations.
