EXPLORINEER
en

US — TechCrunch

You don’t need to believe in a god to get a religious exemption from using AI at work

AI1 min read

A University of Kentucky administrator, David Durman, got a religious exemption from using AI at work even though he is not religious. He is a Humanist, and he says AI goes against his values.

What happened

David Durman, who follows Humanism, a belief system centered on human well-being, asked his employer for an exemption from using AI at work. The University of Kentucky agreed to give him an accommodation, so he does not have to use AI while he keeps doing his main job duties. He is the first Humanist known to win this kind of workplace protection for avoiding AI.

Key facts

  • Durman is a university administrator who helps researchers apply for grants.
  • He is the first Humanist known to get workplace accommodations to avoid AI use.
  • He was inspired by Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist and software engineer who got similar protections.
  • The American Humanist Association (AHA) helped him look into his legal rights.

What Humanism means

Humanism is a set of beliefs about how people live and treat each other. Humanists usually do not believe in a god or other supernatural power. They look for a moral guide based on science and reason. Humanism is not against religion, but many Humanists are skeptical of gods.

Why it matters

The story shows that workplace protections for beliefs about AI are not only for people with religious faith. The AHA says that Humanists and other nontheists are also protected by the law at work. As more employers encourage or require AI tools, other workers with similar concerns may ask for the same kind of protection.

What to watch

  • Whether other employers accept AI exemption requests from people with secular or nonreligious beliefs.
  • Whether the University of Kentucky reviews Durman's accommodation if his job duties change.
  • Whether AI use becomes a required part of his job in the future.

Glossary

Humanism
A belief system focused on human well-being and good behavior, based on reason and science, often without belief in a god.
American Humanist Association (AHA)
A nonprofit group that promotes secular humanism and helps people with legal questions about their beliefs.
Unitarian Universalist
A faith tradition that welcomes many beliefs and is open to different religious and nonreligious views.

Same story, different eyes

Ad

Add 150 words. Learn 10 a day.

Dicter word books send only the words you learn to your review notes.

More in this topic

AIITmedia

OpenAI Revises "Model Spec" AI Behavior Guidelines, Specifying Use of Memory and Human Oversight

OpenAI published a revised version of Model Spec, the public document defining how its AI models should behave, on October 29 local time. The new version is organized around five values, adds rules on handling context such as conversation history and memory and on cooperating with human oversight, and removes most of the detailed guidelines on ChatGPT's personality and writing style. OpenAI says the Model Spec describes intended behavior and that current models do not yet fully reflect it.

AIheise online

Alphabet's market value plunges by half a trillion dollars

Alphabet shares lost about one-eighth of their value on Thursday, wiping out roughly half a trillion dollars in market capitalization on heavy trading volume. It is the company's largest share-price drop on record, and the decline stemmed from its own third-quarter 2026 results, which showed falling net profit and free cash flow amid heavy AI data center spending funded partly by new debt and share issues.

AITechCrunch

Granola crunches up a dictation feature to compete with Wispr

Granola, known for its meeting notetaker, has launched a dictation feature on Mac that works across all apps. Users press the "Fn" key, speak, and the tool cleans up and formats the speech before posting the final text. The company said the feature will come to iOS and Windows soon, as voice startups increasingly combine meeting note-taking and dictation into multi-feature apps.

AIThe Verge

The NYT Cooking app is testing AI recipe modifications

The New York Times is testing an AI feature in its Cooking app that suggests ingredient and equipment substitutions, scales recipes to any number of servings, and adapts recipes to a cook's needs. The feature is rolling out gradually to all Cooking subscribers on iOS, with broader availability planned "soon," and customized recipes remain private. Some readers have criticized the feature over environmental concerns and its impact on the user experience, and an editor said it cannot be disabled "at this time."