Kentucky humanist wins exemption from work AI

A University of Kentucky worker won the right to skip AI at work on religious grounds on the 25th of September 2026. The American Humanist Association made it public on the 26th of October.

David Durman helps run research grants there. He is a humanist, someone whose beliefs have no god.

The group said he is the first humanist to win such an exemption.

The University of Kentucky's equal opportunity office said yes on the 25th of September

Durman wrote to the school's equal opportunity office in late August, the group said. The office met him in mid September and found the request put no real burden on his team.

He asked under Title VII, the US law that bans job bias based on religion. Employers must make room for sincere beliefs when they reasonably can.

Durman's reasons: AI would take over his own thinking

"I cannot, in good conscience, partake in the use and proliferation of this technology," Durman said in the group's statement.

"The way we become moral actors for ourselves and for others is through the active application of our minds," he told TechCrunch.

Below we break down what the exemption covers and what it leaves in place

The exemption covers his own use of AI tools, the group said. He still does all of his work, just without AI.

He still has to go to meetings and send work through tools that use AI, the legal site FindLaw reported. The university settled it in its own office, with no court case.

The university reviews each request on its own

University spokesman Jay Blanton told TechCrunch that each request is judged on its own, by job and situation. Such deals "may be reviewed to ensure they remain reasonable and workable," he said.

Key facts

Approved by the University of Kentucky's Office of Equal Opportunity on the 25th of September 2026.

Made public by the American Humanist Association on the 26th of October 2026.

Covers David Durman's own use of AI at work.

Granted by the employer under Title VII, with no court ruling.