Relational Autonomy. Rethinking AI Ethics in the Light of Feminism

This chapter critically engages with dominant paradigms in AI ethics, which often rely on liberal notions of agency, responsibility, and autonomy rooted in rational individualism. Drawing on feminist theories—particularly the concept of relational autonomy—autonomy is redefined as a socially embedded, affective, and interdependent capacity. This chapter argues that mainstream AI ethics fails to account for structural injustices, material conditions, and the relational constitution of subjectivity, and therefore cannot adequately address the challenges raised by algorithmic governance and technosocial systems. Through the lens of relational autonomy, this chapter reframes the ethical debate around AI to highlight care, collective responsibility, and participatory design practices. Case studies and the critical analyses of sex robots, algorithmic subjectivity, and techno-affects underscore the performative and political nature of AI systems. In conclusion, this chapter calls for a feminist ethics of AI capable of confronting the ontological, affective, and political dimensions of technological design, and proposes democratic, community-based approaches as a path toward justice-oriented and pluralistic technological futures.