Erin Maus, who opposed the use of AI in her software engineering job, secured a miraculous religious exemption from her employer.
Maus, a Unitarian universalist, said he proposed special treatment in April, citing environmental and ethical objections to AI that does not align with religious beliefs. She also said she had consulted an employment lawyer and a local branch minister to make her case.
Maus was granted accommodation in mid-May, according to an email reviewed by Business Insider.
“I write code and manually review code, and this seems like a crazy thing to say,” said the 34-year-old, who lives in North Carolina and works for a major technology entertainment company that she describes as progressive. “How else would you have done it just two years ago?”
Maus’ AI workaround comes as more employers are mandating and tracking the use of AI for their employees. The technology has recently come under scrutiny from Pope Leo XIV. Last month, in a more than 42,000-word encyclical, the pope warned that if left unchecked, AI could undermine human dignity and displace workers.
Some interpret the Pope’s letter as evidence of religious opposition to the use of AI in the workplace. This is a position that actually carries legal weight, given that federal law requires employers to consider faith-based requests.
“The funniest possible outcome of the AI mandate era is that HR departments realize that the ‘sincerely held religious belief’ bar under Title VII is much lower than they had assumed, and Pope Leo hands all Catholics a written excuse,” San Francisco software startup founder Corey Quinn writes in X.
“Pretending to be a priest”
“Unitarian Universalists recognize that technological progress must be guided by humanity’s ethical understanding,” said Suzanne Morse, spokeswoman for the Unitarian Universalist Association. The group is currently developing a policy on the use of AI and a theological statement around it, she said.
As more religious groups grapple with the ethical implications of AI, some employment lawyers see potential challenges in the workplace. Discussions about faith-based opposition to the technology were reportedly underway even before Pope Leo released his encyclical on Memorial Day. He said his intervention could spark a new wave of workers seeking faith-based exemptions from AI requirements.
John J. Meehan, an attorney who specializes in workplace discrimination and labor law at the Joseph & Nolinsburg law firm, said employers “may need to issue some rules on this soon.” “If I were a larger defensive staffing agency, I would be doing that right now.”
Workers filed more than 3,600 complaints of religion-based discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in fiscal year 2024, an increase of about 70% from 2021, the last full fiscal year before a spike in complaints over vaccination mandates.
Ashley Hurd, a former general counsel at McKinsey & Co. and director of human resources in North America who now advises managers and employers on workplace issues, said if an employer outright fires a worker who seeks an exemption from using AI based on religious beliefs, it could be challenged in court.
“Playing clergy or telling employees that their demands are not legitimate doesn’t tend to bode well for companies,” said Hurd, who also co-hosts the podcast “HR Besties.” “Juries don’t like when employees are picked on by managers and human resources.”
In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a postal worker who sought exemption from Sunday work for religious reasons. The decision raised the bar for employers to seek to deny religious accommodations, making it harder to deny requests on the grounds that they would create a burden on the workplace.
Still, Pope Leo’s comments may not be a hurray for workers looking to avoid AI. Dr. Michael Norton, director of the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, said the pope was not implying that Catholics should not embrace AI, but rather questioned whether it would promote or diminish human agency.
“This is a religious right, and to say, ‘You don’t have to use it’ in the workplace, you’re probably going down the wrong path,” Norton said.
Opt-out case
Workplace concerns are just one manifestation of a broader backlash against AI. At some university graduation ceremonies this spring, students heckled commencement speakers praising the technology, while residents across the country are protesting the construction of AI data centers.
A May survey by HR software company Cornerstone found that nearly one-third of employees have negative feelings toward AI, including anxiety, uncertainty, and resistance. The findings are based on a survey of 2,000 workers in the US and UK conducted by research firm Censuswide.
Karina Cortez, Cornerstone’s chief human resources officer, said she has seen employees resist new technology in the past and eventually embrace it. Although Cornerstone doesn’t require its roughly 3,500 employees to use AI, he warned that firing them for any reason could hurt their careers as the technology becomes more pervasive in the workplace.
“Opting out today could put you on the back burner tomorrow,” Cortez said.
For now, Mouse isn’t worried about being left behind. She said she recently completed a coding task at the same speed as a colleague who handled a nearly identical challenge using AI.
“AI doesn’t really seem to be this transformative,” she says, adding that her experience with the technology only strengthens her view. “Your principles matter.”