Kentucky man becomes the first humanist granted religious exemption from AI

David Durman, a 45-year-old research administrator, assists researchers with grant applications at the University of Kentucky. With the support of the American Humanist Association, he sent a letter to the university's Office of Equal Opportunity in late August. The office approved the request on September 25 after concluding it would not place an undue burden on his department. He continues his full workload without using AI himself, though he still must attend meetings where AI is used, and the accommodation does not change his responsibilities or performance standards. The request followed the university's plan to have staff use AI tools in their daily work. Durman was prompted to act by Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist software engineer who made headlines after receiving an exemption from her employer because of her religious concerns about AI. The legal basis is Title VII, and federal courts have ruled that humanism can qualify as a religion. Employers can still refuse, but under the 2023 Groff v. DeJoy ruling they must show that an accommodation would impose substantial costs. For founders selling workplace AI, this case shows that mandated adoption can produce accommodation claims. The university said yes partly because the change wasn't going to change his own output or prevent anyone else from using AI tools. Products that let individual users opt out of personal AI features without breaking shared team workflows are likely to face fewer objections than tools that require adoption on every seat.