Kentucky approves humanist worker’s AI accommodation

The University of Kentucky has approved a religious accommodation allowing administrator David Durman to avoid personally using artificial intelligence to complete his work, after he argued that doing so conflicted with his humanist beliefs. The American Humanist Association, which helped Durman prepare his request, said the university approved it in September. One account reported the approval came on September 25 and that the university determined the accommodation would not impose an undue burden on his department. A university spokesperson said requests are considered individually and that Durman can continue performing the essential functions of his job. Durman says independent thinking and judgment are important to his moral development. In his accommodation request, he argued that substituting automated processing for human presence, listening and personal responsibility conflicted with his obligation to uphold human dignity and flourishing. He told interviewers that personally handing off cognitive work to AI could undermine his ability to act as a moral person. The accommodation is limited: it excuses Durman from personally using AI to complete his work, but does not...