Overview
- The University of Kentucky granted research administrator David Durman a religious accommodation that excuses him from being required to use AI tools for his personal work tasks, with the approval documented in a university Office of Equal Opportunity letter dated September 25.
- Durman told reporters that his humanist convictions bar him from outsourcing thinking to AI because doing so would weaken his moral agency and undercut human dignity and flourishing.
- The university’s accommodation allows Durman to keep performing essential job duties supporting grant applications but says he may still need to attend meetings or cooperate with colleagues who use AI.
- The decision rests on established federal law that can treat secular humanism as a religion and on a legal standard that makes it harder for employers to deny accommodations unless they show substantial hardship.
- The ruling could prompt more AI opt-out requests and will force HR offices to evaluate each claim individually by testing sincerity, whether essential job functions can be met without AI, and whether an exemption creates more than a minor burden on operations.