What happens when 90% of our cultural insights come from just 10 cities?
In this episode of Follow the Rabbit, Igor and Johannes welcome cultural strategist Amy Daroukakis, who shares her provocative thesis that 90% of trend reports come from just 10 cities in the world—creating a homogenized view of culture that fails to capture global diversity. With 20 years of experience working across 60+ countries, Amy offers insight into how this narrow lens affects everything from business decisions to physical spaces.
The conversation explores how true curiosity has become the essential skill in an age of AI and algorithm-driven content. Through stories spanning Korean kimchi robots to secret trend rooms for major retailers, they unpack how human storytelling and cultural context provide what AI cannot: meaningful connections between seemingly disparate elements.
Key themes include:
- The problem with current trend reporting and its bias toward Western/Global North perspectives
- Amy's project to gather 52 diverse global voices for 2025 cultural insights
- How curiosity becomes both a personal practice and a professional advantage
- The challenges of translating cultural trends into actionable business strategies
- Why the ability to make connections across contexts becomes increasingly valuable as AI handles the mundane
This thoughtful discussion reveals how to move beyond "trends for trends' sake" toward deeper cultural understanding—and why your ability to get lost in rabbit holes might be your most valuable asset in the coming era.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & Amy's Background
05:17 - The Problem with Global Trend Reports
08:53 - Building the Trend Folder & Democratizing Information
12:00 - Curiosity vs Professional Interest in Trends
14:34 - The Challenge of Being Curious in Organizations
16:16 - Human Storytelling vs AI in Cultural Insights
21:44 - The Disconnect Between Research and Application
23:23 - Target's Secret Trend Rooms: A Personal Story
25:32 - From Ta-Da Presentations to Co-Curiosity Building
28:00 - AI Tools and the Value of Human Curiosity
30:12 - From Technology Trends to Cultural Phenomena
31:52 - What Trend Reports Reveal About Companies
35:56 - Kimchi Robots: Connecting Culture and Innovation
39:46 - Multiple Truths: Everything Everywhere All at Once
43:21 - Honest Conversations About Organizational Speed
46:18 - Curiosity as the Key Skill in the Age of AI
49:26 - Finding Connections in Chaos
54:30 - Sensory Approaches to Cultural Understanding
56:35 - Closing Thoughts: Trends as Manifestations of Curiosity
Follow Amy on LinkedIn
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Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
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