Futures of F.I.R.E Industries

The deepening integration of the FIRE sector—finance, insurance, and real estate—with the technology sector is a profoundly consequential development for contemporary capitalism. Separately these sectors are among the most powerful forces in society, with access to untold wealth and the ability to act like private forms of governance. When working together, they boost each other to new levels of dominance over everything. Known by names like fintech, insurtech, and proptech, these interdisciplinary enterprises now have an inescapable influence. These techno-financial systems have grabbed the reins of the global economy, taken hold of political institutions, and seeped into our everyday lives. Although we only notice a fraction of the ways they watch over us, judge our worth, and control our access to basic necessities. This program of research conducts in-depth, critical analyses of the many facets and impacts of the FIRE sector and its technological futures.

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