Software Engineer Gets A Religious Exemption From Using AI At Work
Krakenimages.com | Shutterstock Although some people have strong objections to AI, most businesses are using it in some capacity, and they expect their employees to be well-versed in how to apply it in a way that improves their work.
Thinking AI is ruining human creativity or getting in the way of doing what you’re used to isn’t really a valid excuse to not use AI at work when your employer expects you to do so, but a software engineer in North Carolina was able to find a way to get around those expectations because of her faith.
A software engineer’s request for a religious exemption from AI was accepted in May, and she doesn’t think it’s affected her productivity at all.
According to Business Insider, Erin Maus works at a “large tech-entertainment company that she described as progressive.” Maus is a Unitarian Universalist and made the request with the help of her minister and an employment lawyer.
Suzanne Morse, a spokeswoman for the Unitarian Universalist Association, told the outlet that the faith does not have specific doctrine related to AI, but they are working on developing a policy that aligns with their values. Mainly, they believe that all technology should be ethical, which is one of the biggest criticisms about AI.
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Maus insisted that the accommodation has done nothing to affect her ability to get work done. She said, “I’m writing my code and reviewing my code by hand, which seems crazy to say. Just two years ago, how else would you do it?”
Sticking to what could be described as an old-fashioned method has worked well for her, as evidenced by her ability to get a coding task done recently in the same amount of time that it took one of her co-workers to do the same thing with AI. “AI doesn’t really seem to be this game changer,” she argued.
Some experts think this will be far from the only AI religious exemption we’ll see given the current climate.
Just a few weeks ago, Pope Leo released the first encyclical of his papacy, which detailed his objections to AI. In the document, he didn’t completely denounce AI, but said it should be used carefully. He wrote, “To disarm does not mean rejecting technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity.”
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Ashley Herd, the former head of North American HR at McKinsey, told Business Insider that official statements like this from religious leaders could help workers with requests for exemptions. “Playing priest, and telling employees their request isn’t legitimate, does not tend to bode well for companies,” she explained.
However, other experts, like Dr. Michael Naughton, the director of the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, didn’t think the issue was quite so cut and dry since Pope Leo didn’t actually say that AI shouldn’t be used at all.
Companies are required to honor requests for valid religious accommodations, but this is very uncharted territory.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which handles workplace accommodations related to things like someone’s faith, the Civil Rights Act forces businesses to give their workers religious accommodations when appropriate. If they don’t, they can face a lawsuit.
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There’s really no precedent for AI religious exemptions since the technology is still relatively new. It’s not clear what kind of criteria would be required to request one. For example, would an employee need to prove their faith is opposed to AI? And, if so, how? Of course, no one should be forced to do something that goes against their religious beliefs at work, but how AI fits into that remains pretty ambiguous.
Carina Cortez, the chief people officer at Cornerstone, also expressed concerns that not using AI now could lead to bigger problems later on when it’s even more essential for most jobs, so anyone who follows Maus’ lead might be putting themselves at a disadvantage. It’s definitely not a decision to be taken lightly.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
