This ‘AI refuser’ quit her dream job, and hopes others follow
Gabrielle Boyle resigned from her position at the AFL after the organization mandated the use of Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot. Boyle, who identifies as an 'AI refuser,' cited concerns over environmental impact, cognitive autonomy, and existential risks.
Why it matters
The case highlights the growing tension between corporate AI adoption and individual employee rights regarding technology usage in the workplace.
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Share A A A Gabrielle Boyle resigned from the AFL three days before Microsoft’s AI assistant was switched on throughout the organisation.
She had asked whether she could opt out. The AFL told her, in writing, that she could not.
Gabrielle Boyle describes herself as an AI refuser. She quit her dream job at the AFL. Chelsea Taylor “You do not have a right to request that your work not be accessed by our AI systems,” the code’s HR executive Ciara Gilchrist wrote to her on June 23, according to documents seen by this masthead.
Boyle sent her resignation on June 26. Microsoft’s Copilot went live on June 29.
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