Summer 2025 AI innovation report
Why culture will make or break your AI strategy
From HAL to Her, from Terminator to Wall-E, our imaginations have prepared us for this moment—when AI moves from fiction to function.
AI is no longer a backend technology—it’s fast becoming the primary interface between companies and their customers. But it doesn’t arrive as a blank slate. For over a century, science fiction has shaped how people think and feel about intelligent machines. These cultural narratives—of perception, power, and existence—now shape your customers’ expectations before interacting with your product.
A leadership framework for navigating the first wave of AI integration.
This innovation report explores how deep-rooted cultural narratives are shaping public trust, user adoption, and the perception of AI—and what leaders can do in response. Through the lens of semiotics, it decodes the visual, verbal, and behavioral signals that influence how people perceive and interact with AI.
What you’ll take away:
A practical framework for AI experience design, grounded in four strategic metaphors: machine, magic, nature, and human.
Insight into the three cultural questions your AI must answer to earn trust: Am I being deceived? Am I being replaced? Who’s in charge?
Real-world case studies across sectors—from OpenAI to Apple—show the framework in action.
Leadership guidance on the risks of reinforcing stereotypes, narrowing innovation, and short-sighted choices.
The story your product tells isn’t just a design choice—it’s a leadership decision.
This report equips you to shape that story with clarity, build trust where it matters most, and design AI experiences that meet cultural expectations with confidence and integrity.