A middleman is someone who stands between you and what you want.
Sometimes this is useful, because they are more skilled in the things that are necessary. Sometime they have the knowledge you haven’t. Sometimes they have access to resources and people you haven’t. Then they are not real middlemen.
Sometimes the inject themselves between you and what you want, to get a slice of the cake.
They become real middlemen when they no longer have unique skills, unique knowledge or unique success. When these become obsolete or commodities - but they try to stay injected between you and what you want as long as possible.
Sometimes when technologies change or new technologies arise, middlemen are swept away.
Then some technology comes along and drives them away. Like the internet (and I assume the newspaper before).
A long time ago, most people could not read or write. If you wanted to send a letter, you hired a Scribe. The scribe didn't invent the ideas in the letter; they simply possessed the technical skill of penmanship and literacy to transmit the message.
Lost to history.
With AI the developer looks more and more like the middleman.
Developer: Where is your value? Think deep. Become a creator.