FIRE Watchers: The Centrality of Surveillance (Studies) for Finance, Insurance, Real Estate

Abstract

The deepening integration of the technology sector with the FIRE sector (finance, insurance, real estate) is, arguably, one of the most consequential developments in contemporary political economy. With names like fintech, insurtech, and proptech, the influence of these industries can be found everywhere and only continues to grow. At their heart, the rise of FIRE-tech is about upgrading old and building new forms of surveillance and then applying them to increasingly more people, places, and processes. And yet, critical research on FIRE-tech from the field of surveillance studies has not kept pace with these developments. This special issue offers us a chance to look back on the contributions made by the field and look ahead at the challenges it now faces. As we think about the issues and agendas that should guide our research moving forward, there is value in bringing surveillance studies and FIRE-tech into closer alignment. Doing so provides an opportunity to increase the analytical power and ongoing relevance of the field by critically confronting the development, purpose, and impact of FIRE-tech. In short, we should frame FIRE as surveillance and we should see surveillance via FIRE.

Revitalizing Dissent: Imperatives for Critical Surveillance Inquiry

“…Another theme is one of methodological experimentation, which could include literary or artistic approaches, such as "speculative fabulation" (Veel and Wellendorf 2022) or "ghost methodology" of tracing hidden violence (Glasbeek 2022), or it could include innovations to empirically study-and theorize-secretive policing and security apparatuses or algorithmic processes (Brayne 2022). 10 A final theme is that of maintaining a critical focus on issues of power, inequality, domination, and violence, particularly as the technological and institutional landscapes shift (Andrejevic 2022;Ball 2022;Crooks 2022;Fussey 2022;Orr and Magnet 2022;Marwick 2022;Sadowski 2022), authoritarianisms resurge (Akbari 2022), and environmental and health crises grow (Browne, Klauser, and Murakami Wood 2022;Sung 2022).…”