Fintech, Technomania, and Persistent Socio-Civilizational Challenges

While technological change has always been present as a constant in the evolution of human civilization, the pace and extent to which technology now not just shapes, but also controls our individual and collective life is unprecedented. The positive, expansive impact of technology is undeniable. As part, the expansive presence of technology affecting all aspects of life, one area that also has emerged as a dominant sub-field is financial technology, Fintech, in short. As a nascent field, it is already impacting various aspects of our financial life and is expected to touch our lives more closely as it evolves. There is a lot of excitement in the air, as Fintech, based on breakthrough technologies, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, big data, robo-advisory, smart contracts, and so on we might be in an unchartered territory. While Muslims, in general, and Islamic finance, in particular, are not part of leading technology creation and development, Islamic finance is trying to take advantage of the emerging Fintech revolution and through the relevant technology adoption and diffusion. However, as Islamic finance is mainly a prohibition-driven industry so far, it is largely disconnected from the broader, positive socioeconomic aspirations. In this chapter, we explore some deeper socio-civilizational challenges that not only affect the humanity from socioeconomic perspective, but also some of which at the civilizational level that relate to finance as well as Islamic finance