The trend to watch in 2025? Reintermediation

The internet was meant to kill the middleman – but 25 years later, brokers and curators are thriving. As AI reshapes the digital economy, will their reign continue, or is another shake-up coming?

What lies in store for brokers and curators in the rapidly evolving age of AI? (Getty)

Choice, we have decided, is bad.

Some 52% of Gen Z say they don’t like political choice and would prefer a dictator to do the deciding for us^[1]. Presented with the complete history of recorded music, we let the algorithm pick our streams^[2]. Unable to decide what to eat, we order meal packs that tell us when and what - and how to cook it^[3]. The power of influencers who shape our shopping decisions just continues to grow.

What happened? Choice was once the watchword of governments, informed by focus groups that options were what we wanted. The upside of globalisation was that it would connect us to products from around the world. We were excited about the prospect of choice. Yet now we seem to avoid making decisions at any cost...