Consent, control and code: A data feminist critique of Warcross series

Abstract

This paper offers a data feminist reading of Marie Lu’s Warcross and Wildcard, applying the intersecting frameworks of data feminism, intersectionality, and Patricia Hill Collins’s matrix of domination to examine how the narrative critiques real-world issues of surveillance, algorithmic discrimination, and gendered violence. Central to this analysis is NeuroLink, a brain–computer interface that connects the user’s mind to a virtual reality system through contact lenses. While promoted as a tool for safety, entertainment, and social order, NeuroLink simultaneously emerges as a mechanism of social control, reflecting how male-centric algorithms and technological infrastructures perpetuate gendered oppression and data violence. Through close textual analysis, this study demonstrates how NeuroLink enforces structural, disciplinary, hegemonic, and interpersonal forms of domination, silencing women and marginalized groups under the guise of technological progress. The narrative illustrates pressing concerns such as algorithmic bias, privacy invasion, and the erosion of autonomy, while also foregrounding the psychological consequences of constant surveillance. The paper situates Lu’s work within broader debates on surveillance capitalism and ethical responsibilities in digital environments, drawing parallels to contemporary instances of cyber violence, algorithmic discrimination, and privacy violations. Ultimately, the study underscores how the Warcross series operates as a cultural text that both dramatizes the dangers of unchecked algorithmic power and advocates for feminist and ethical interventions in technological design.