Is the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the FemTech Industry Feminist? The Bioethical and Legal Dilemmas in the FemTech Industry from a Feminist Perspective

This article offers another ‘take’ on the lively and current discussions beingheld on the outline of bioethical principles and legal regulation of artificialintelligence technologies, in the areas of medicine and health. It examines towhat extent women’s interests and feminist agendas are taken into account inthese discussions. For this purpose, the article focuses on the FemTech industry.It is specifically interested in AI-based technologies in the area of medicine andhealth that targets women and is focused on female issues. By doing so, thearticle studies the crossroads between AI-based technologies’ regulation,devices in favor of medicine and health, and technologies targeted for women.Based on empirical illustrations, and in light of the current positive law, thearticle explores the bioethical and legal dilemmas in the FemTech Industry froma feminist perspective. It specifically asks whether the use of AI in the FemTechindustry can be considered feminist. In other words, it explores whether thetechnologies that aim to treat women’s health, address new challenges facingfeminist ethics or social philosophy, or if they simply raise old bioethicalquestions in relation to new technologies. The article looks at the advantages,alongside the challenges, of AI-based FemTech devices from a feministperspective. Additionally, it sets the grounds for a feminist regulatory andethical policy, with respect to AI-based medical devices.