AI-Mediated Coordination Under Intermediary-Dependency Constraints: Multi-Agent Market Access Across Two Field Deployment Verticals

The crisis

• Skill-rich producer communities are often trapped in low-margin, intermediated market structures with no direct buyer access
• Without durable demand channels, livelihoods stay volatile even when output quality is high
• The gap is not lack of skill — it is lack of fair market access and reliable income pathways
• Informal employment correlates with persistent earnings gaps; AI-mediated coordination may reduce intermediary dependence

About this research

The organizing constraint is structural: communities with high output quality face persistent market access gaps enforced by intermediary-dependency chains, not skill or production deficits. AI-mediated coordination is evaluated as a mechanism for income pathway diversification under those constraints. Work proceeds through 2 active field partnerships with a build-measure-learn methodology across vertically-isolated deployment environments.

Key findings

• (In Progress — field research ongoing)

References

• Taylor & Francis · Reimagining craft for community development
• IIT Kanpur · YUKTI: craft clusters as living labs
• ILOSTAT · Informal employment and earnings gap

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