Opposed to using AI for her software-engineering job, Erin Maus secured something of a miracle from her employer: a religious exemption.
Maus, a Unitarian Universalist, said she proposed the special treatment in April, citing environmental and ethical objections to AI that don’t align with her religious beliefs. She also said she consulted an employment lawyer and her local chapter’s minister to help make her case.
Maus was granted the accommodation in mid-May, according to an email seen by Business Insider.
“I’m writing my code and reviewing my code by hand, which seems crazy to say,” said the 34-year-old, who lives in North Carolina and works for a large tech-entertainment company that she described as progressive. “Just two years ago, how else would you do it?”
Maus’ AI workaround comes as a growing number of employers mandate and track workers’ AI usage. The technology has also recently drawn scrutiny from Pope Leo XIV, who warned last month that AI could undermine human dignity and displace workers if left unchecked, in a more than 42,000-word encyclical.
Some people have interpreted the pontiff’s letter as grounds for religious objections to using AI in the workplace. It’s a stance that carries real legal weight, given that federal law requires employers to consider faith-based requests. {read}