Neuro-Ubuntu Maʽat Ethics for Neuro-AI Governance in Africa

This article develops a normative framework for governing neuro-AI in African business and policy contexts. Drawing on a structured literature review of neuroethics, neural data governance, neurorights, and African philosophy, the article argues that prevailing regulatory approaches remain insufficient for many African settings because they rely predominantly on individualist models of autonomy and consent. In response, the article proposes Neuro-Ubuntu Maʽat (NUM) Ethics, a synthetic framework integrating Ubuntu, Maʽat, and broader traditions of African ethical thought. The framework is organised around five principles—mind-dignity, relational personhood, Maʽatian balance, character-centred governance, and communal responsibility—and translated into governance mechanisms relevant to firms, regulators, and civil society. The article also develops the concept of cognitive extractivism to describe the extraction, commodification, and monetisation of neural data without adequate protections for dignity, mental privacy, or fair benefit-sharing. The article contributes to business ethics and technology governance by articulating an African-centred approach to neurotechnology regulation that is philosophically grounded, comparatively situated, and institutionally actionable.