The experts predicting what business looks like in 2035

The business world never stands still. New technologies emerge, industries evolve and consumer expectations shift, forcing organizations to adapt faster than ever before. While no one can predict the future with certainty, those studying the forces shaping business today have the clearest view of what’s next. 

To explore what the future could hold, we asked faculty members across Warrington to look ahead to 2035. Their predictions offer more than a glimpse of what might be ahead. They reveal how emerging innovations, changing workforce dynamics and evolving global markets could reshape the way organizations operate, compete and create value in the years to come. 

The future of finance

Alejandro Lopez-Lira, Assistant Professor

By 2035, I expect artificial intelligence to reshape finance along a clear line that separates work which can be automated from work that depends on human relationships.

In asset management, the pressure will be significant. AI systems will be better than humans at analyzing firms, executing trades and detecting the subtle patterns that drive returns. I expect today’s trading firms to face a difficult choice. They will either transform their workforce or be displaced by a new generation of AI-native competitors. The analysts who do well will be those who move toward what machines cannot do, such as physically inspecting facilities and gathering on-the-ground information that never makes it into a dataset.

Banking and wealth advisory will likely prove more stable. These businesses are built on human trust. Clients still want a person across the table when they are making major decisions, and they especially want one during periods of fear and market stress. The hand-holding that defines good advising is not easily automated, so I expect these roles to change more gradually.

I also expect a wave of new regulation aimed at governing how AI behaves in markets, with particular focus on preventing algorithmic activity from amplifying systemic risk.

The main point is this—automation will lead where finance is computational, while human judgment and relationships will keep their value where trust is what clients are paying for.

The future of accounting

Gabriel Pundrich, Assistant Professor

Accounting has always been evolving. Handwritten ledgers gave way to spreadsheets, spreadsheets gave way to enterprise systems and we are now standing at the edge of another shift. Nobody can say with certainty what the profession will look like in a decade. My perspective is shaped by my research and teaching, which sits at the intersection of accounting and artificial intelligence.

The shift I expect to matter most is the move from periodic review toward continuous assurance. Rather than auditors examining a small slice of transactions months after the fact, I expect AI systems to increasingly monitor entire populations of transactions in real time, flagging anything unusual the moment it appears. The monthly ritual of closing the books may start to feel almost continuous.

I do not read this as accountants becoming obsolete. I read it as our work moving up the value chain. As machines take on recording and reconciling, the human contribution shifts toward judgment. We interpret what an anomaly means, decide what material it is and stand behind conclusions that an algorithm can surface but cannot own. That is, professional skepticism becomes more valuable, not less.

I am especially interested in the forensic uses. The same tools that automate routine assurance are, to my mind, remarkably good at exposing fraud, waste and the misuse of public money. I would love to see this kind of monitoring reach beyond corporations to governments, school districts and nonprofits, anywhere that stewardship of other people’s money demands transparency.

If I have one concern, it is over-trust. The more capable these models become, the greater the temptation to lean on them without question. My bet is that the accountants who thrive will be those who understand both the numbers and the limits of the systems that produce them.

The future of social media

Liangfei Qiu, PricewaterhouseCoopers ISOM Professor

By 2035, social media will likely evolve from a platform for human-generated content into a hybrid ecosystem where humans and artificial intelligence agents coexist, collaborate and even socialize. Instead of simply scrolling through posts created by people, users may increasingly interact with autonomous, agentic AI companions that curate information, moderate communities, generate content, negotiate attention and mediate social relationships. Agentic AI differs from today’s recommendation algorithms because it can pursue goals autonomously, adapt to user behavior and coordinate actions over time rather than merely reacting to clicks or prompts.

In this future, agentic AI may become part of social media’s interpretive infrastructure. Rather than merely facilitating communication, AI agents could shape how users understand one another, influence judgments of trust and authenticity, and mediate social meaning itself. Personalized agents may summarize discussions, filter misinformation, coach users on tone or even represent individuals in online interactions when they are offline. As human-AI relationships become embedded in digital communities, social platforms may shift from networks of people to networks of humans and intelligent social agents working together. This transformation reflects a broader change in social technology: platforms will increasingly structure both human-human and human-AI relationships simultaneously.

Yet this future will also create new tensions. Agentic AI may improve content quality, moderation and emotional support while unintentionally reducing spontaneity, trust or authentic participation. By 2035, the central challenge of social media governance may no longer be maximizing engagement, but managing how AI agents shape emotional reactions, behavioral participation and perceptions of accountability over time. Social media may become more intelligent and personalized, but also more socially negotiated between humans and machines.

The future of work

Brian Swider, Christopher and Yeniley Winfrey Professor of Business

On the surface, work in 2035 will look dramatically different from 2026, just as work today looks different from work in 2017, or 2008, or 1988. Yet, I predict that the psychological experience of work for employees in 2035 will be remarkably similar to what employees experience today. For instance, firms will hire employees based on their level of (or potential to develop) knowledge, skills and abilities that are currently demanded in given roles. Getting jobs will be difficult and take effort, but having high levels of human capital and good networks will make the process easier.

Employees will be more satisfied with jobs that offer opportunities to use a variety of skills, do meaningful work, have high levels of autonomy and receive helpful feedback on their efforts. Although unexpected reasons will prompt job and career changes, the bulk of quitting a job will be a function of employees’ desire to leave (likely because of dissatisfaction with their work tasks, supervisors, coworkers, or pay and promotional opportunities) and their ease of movement (having many job options and fewer things tying them down). Employees will feel burned out by jobs that involve administrative red tape, unclear roles and organizational politics. Conversely, they will be engaged and energized by jobs that offer development opportunities, supportive coworkers and innovative work climates.

Effective leaders in 2035 will focus their time on showing concern, respect and appreciation for their followers, as well as on helping define, organize and set goals for their followers’ work roles. More than a century of organizational research has shown that these workplace experiences consistently occur for employees. I have no reason to think they will change anytime soon.

The future of marketing

Geoff Tomaino, Assistant Professor

Marketing in 2035 will hinge on who has purchasing agency: consumers or AI?

Already, people are ceding decision-making authority to AI for mundane logistical choices (e.g., meeting scheduling) and communications (e.g., pesky reply e-mails). The consumer of 2035 might go further, having AI stock their fridge, furnish their apartment and hire their dog walker. In that future, marketing will look very different. Instead of directly marketing to consumers, we would likely see agentic AIs studying their users’ tastes and acting as personal shoppers. Marketers would then shift focus towards convincing AI gatekeepers that they have what their users want. This would entail a major move away from ubiquitous consumer-facing marketing tools, like awareness campaigns and sponsored Instagram posts, and towards product fundamentals, like features and price.

By contrast, let’s say consumers decide to hold onto their purchasing agency. AI will still have an important role to play. Already we are seeing advertising in AI outputs. While embedded advertising is nothing new (think sponsored links in Google search results), an advertising entity that just gave us a therapy session and told us how to file our taxes represents a marketing channel with an unprecedented level of consumer intimacy. In that 2035, we will need to understand when people follow AI advice, how far AI companies can push a sponsored agenda without alienating their users, and how a brand can make sure AI models portray them exactly as they want to be seen.

Of course, the reality will likely be some combination of both futures. Consumers may let AI shop for their batteries but still pick their own car. As a consumer psychologist, my career will certainly be much more interesting in a 2035 where consumers keep their decision-making autonomy. But that decision, at least for now, is theirs.