After Pope criticizes AI, can workers ask for exemption from religious AI at work? – Nationally
Some Canadians may be guilty of claiming a religious exemption from the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, following the Catholic Church’s official warnings from Pope Leo XIV about the technology.
But experts warn that claiming an exemption from religion is not easy, and the question of where reasonable accommodation lies with emerging and largely unregulated technology remains a thorny one.
The Pope’s manifesto calls for stricter regulation of artificial intelligence, warning in his 42,300-word letter that “technology is not just a tool.”
“When it becomes the standard by which everything is judged, it begins to dictate what is important and what is disposable, it reduces creation to something to be exploited and people enter a system driven by efficiency,” Pope said.
“What is needed is a strong political involvement that can slow things down when everything is moving too fast,” Pope Leo said in the document, titled. Magnifica Humanitasor Magnificent Humanity.
He also says there is a “hidden danger” in the use of AI, which requires “strong legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not give up its responsibility.”
Leo also called on AI developers to work for the common good rather than profit.
“Just as the creator of a work of art or text must consider the values it conveys, so developers are called to embed good values in their projects with due seriousness: obviously, responsibility to the affected communities and careful attention to ensure that what is invested is a real benefit.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney – a devout Catholic – is set to unveil the government’s long-awaited AI strategy this week following repeated delays.
He discussed the topic of artificial intelligence with Pope Leo on Friday, with Carney “accepting the Pope’s leadership in this field.”
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“They discussed the need for AI to work for humanity, starting with the protection of the individual. Prime Minister Carney expressed Canada’s desire to lead the world in responsible AI and tools for the benefit of the global community,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout of the call.
The federal government is expected to announce its long-awaited national AI strategy this week.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Canada’s national meeting of bishops of the Catholic Church, also described the Pope’s letter as “putting human dignity as the basis for guiding technological progress.”
“The Church’s social teaching is in line with these changes, pointing to mutual benefit, unity and mutual support as the basic indicators to understand and interpret the change that is currently underway,” according to the report of this meeting in the press.
Can employees now refuse to use AI?
Official religious texts on the subject may leave some Canadians wondering if they can be religiously free to use artificial intelligence in their work.
The Canadian Human Rights Act aims to “extend Canada’s anti-discrimination laws,” while the Ontario Human Rights Code states that “everyone has the right to equal treatment in respect of housing, without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, origin, nationality, sex, sex, sex, creed, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, gender, gender, gender, gender, gender, gender, gender, gender, gender, gender, gender, marital status, family status, disability or receiving public assistance.”
Christopher Achkar, managing partner at Achkar Law, says those rules may be cited by Canadian workers when requesting religious accommodation.
“Employees can cite those religious reasons as adoption reasons and not have to use AI,” he said.
“Because these two laws protect against discrimination for those reasons, employers should accept those employees if they mention that they belong to those beliefs.
“If there are religious groups, for example, and in this case not using AI for religious reasons, then the code protects them from being terminated, discriminated against or treated differently or badly because of these reasons, so employers have to accept.”
However, Puneet Tiwari, an employment lawyer and partner at Leavitt LLP, said this applies to the employer unless there is “undue hardship.”
This defines the point at which an employer is no longer legally required to accommodate an employee.
In Canadian employment law, employers must treat employees fairly – not to the point of inconvenience, discrimination or minor inconvenience.
“There is no complete answer. It must be taken case by case,” said Tiwari.
Aaron Zaltzman, a partner at Whitten & Lublin Employment Lawyers, said “if it’s a religious belief, the employee will be entitled to a reasonable accommodation.”
“Actually, I think the most difficult obstacle would be to prove that it is a religious belief,” he said.
“AI is clearly not something that was thought of when the Torah or the Bible or most of the current religious texts of mainstream religions were written. Therefore, the question of whether to oppose AI as a religious belief is very much a matter of interpretation.”
Achkar also said that if “one worker in 50 [employees] who cites religion as a reason not to use AI, then the employer will have difficulty rejecting that employee and will have to accept them.”
He also added that in the future, there may be amendments to existing laws to meet these needs.
“It’s definitely a dynamic industry, and you have to influence the laws that are in place, so I can see that starting to work with different actions.”
Tiwari said housing is “a two-way street.”
“So the employer and the employee can engage in a conversation to see, ‘Hey, are there any solutions?'”
How do Canadians feel about AI?
New data released Tuesday found two-thirds of Canadians (68 percent) say it’s too much for government to regulate AI and technology companies, or that doing so slows development.
However, three-quarters (74 percent) doubt that any government is really equipped to keep up with the technology.
What’s more, the survey found that one in six (16 per cent) Canadians would leave it to tech companies to manage themselves.
– via files from Reuters
