Disintermediation, Again

Disintermediation, the removal of elements in a value chain particularly related to distribution, was a primary effect of the internet. 

Artificial intelligence should cause even more disintermediation, as processes and value chain roles dependent on information asymmetry are removed. 

source: WallStreetMojo

Worse, some might fear, there might be no natural restorative mechanism similar to the boom-bust; recession-recovery; supply-demand cycles we commonly see in economies. 

Instead, in a worst-case scenario, AI continually depresses consumer spending (which represents about 70 percent of all economic activity) as AI leads to layoffs, which leads to less consumer spending, which increases the necessity of relying on AI to protect firm profit margins. 

Industry	How AI Removes Friction/Asymmetry	Expected Impact
Real Estate Brokerage	AI agents instantly access MLS data, decades of transaction records, valuations, and matching—eliminating agents' knowledge advantage and buyer/seller search friction.	Commissions drop sharply (e.g., from 5-6% to under 1%); many deals close agent-free or via AI "agent-on-agent"; widespread disintermediation and value loss for traditional firms.
Insurance Brokerage/Underwriting	AI enables instant policy comparison, re-shopping, risk prediction via vast data, and fraud detection—eroding inertia-based renewals and broker expertise.	15-20% premium loss from passive renewals; brokerage spreads compress; shift to direct/AI-driven models; broker selloffs (e.g., triggered by tools like Insurify).
Wealth Management / Financial Advisory	AI delivers personalized portfolio advice, tax strategies, and real-time market analysis—democratizing what once required expensive human experts and proprietary insights.	Erosion of 1% AUM or high advisory fees for basic services; "basic financial advisory" faces collapse; robo-advisors and AI tools dominate routine work.
Legal Services (Routine)	AI automates contract drafting, precedent research, due diligence, and basic navigation of laws—reducing asymmetry between lawyers and clients on standard matters.	Commoditization of routine work; reduced demand for junior/entry-level roles; faster/cheaper services pressure billable hours and firm margins.
Travel Booking Platforms	AI agents autonomously assemble custom itineraries (flights, hotels, etc.) faster/cheaper than platforms, bypassing search friction and default inertia.	Margin compression for intermediaries; habitual booking models disrupted; platforms lose value as direct AI routing prevails.
Logistics / Freight Brokerage	AI optimizes routes, matches shippers/carriers directly, and forecasts with superior data—eliminating broker coordination friction and information edges.	Broker fees collapse; rapid selloffs (e.g., truck brokers like RXO); shift to automated direct platforms.
Consulting / Professional Advisory Services	AI handles research, data analysis, and initial recommendations—eroding human expertise moats and proprietary knowledge asymmetry.	Reduced fees for routine/cognitive tasks; white-collar headcount cuts; productivity gains but revenue destruction for traditional models.
Ratings Agencies / Index Providers / Credit Checks	AI aggregates and analyzes public/proprietary data at scale—undermining exclusive research advantages and manual verification friction.	Proprietary edges erode; commoditization of ratings/indexing; lower barriers and pricing pressure.

Payments also are an obvious place to look for changes, though the changes might come from use of blockchain-based payment processors offering stablecoins.

source: Citrini Research