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Paper short abstract

This paper examines the ethical tension between African feminist ethics of care and the moral logic of tech capitalism. Tech capitalism thrives on platform capitalism, data colonialism and neoliberal marketisation. The paper offers care as a central moral counterpart to contemporary tech capitalism.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines the ethical tension between African feminist ethics of care and the moral logic of tech capitalism. This is because the political economy of the ongoing 4th industrial revolution, which typifies the advancement in the use of artificial intelligence, thrives on platform capitalism, data colonialism and neoliberal marketisation. These are, however, detrimental to the principles of African feminist philosophy, like àjùmòse/àjọṣe (collective responsibility, relationality, and reciprocity), as technological capitalism reproduces extractive, colonial and gendered forms of exploitation through invisibilisation and feminisation of care labour. To this end, this paper addresses the question of: how does African feminist ethics of care expose the limits of tech capitalism? Can digitalisation be ethical without centring care? This paper employs the philosophical methodology of critical thinking, argumentation, and the reconstruction of ideas to argue that African feminist ethics is fundamental to reorienting digital development toward dignity, moral responsibility, and collective well-being. This paper contributes to African feminist ethics, development ethics, and critical digital ethics by offering care as a central moral counterpart to contemporary tech capitalism.