Yan Liang
Software EngineerYan is exploring the future of media and collective storytelling with an artificial intelligence companion.
media FUTURESDISTRICT 6
ABOUT YAN
Yan is an engineer who's always thinking about how systems shape human behavior and connection. To Yan, civic culture is the invisible infrastructure that determines whether strangers become neighbors, whether public spaces feel inviting or alienating, and whether residents feel like passive consumers or active co-creators of their environment. It's what happens in the spaces between - between buildings, between people, between ideas and action.
INTERESTSSoftware Engineering, Urban Planning, Storytelling
VISIONYan imagines a city with more walkable, people-first public spaces where neighborhoods feel genuinely connected - not just physically accessible, but socially inviting.
Future Cast
Sketching the Future of San Francisco
FutureCast is a collective worldbuilding and storytelling experience. San Franciscans from across the city come together in a room to imagine the city decades from now. A companion municipal AI named HERALD — Heuristic Engine for Regional Archives and Local Discourse (commissioned under the fictional Civic Memory Act) — serves as a collaborative worldbuilding tool: a creative prompt engine and research assistant, not the author. Participants ask HERALD questions about 2049, read its answers together, and use them as raw material — correcting, expanding, and rewriting. The human voice is always the final layer. AI offers a starting sketch. The community writes the story.
July X, 2026 • time-timeLocation
Yan’s Picks
Check out some of the materials and resources that have helped shape Yan’s visions for what could be.
Book / Podcast / Movie
Monet is a lifelong educator with a passion for creating accessible, engaging learning experiences. Known for a calm, encouraging teaching style, Monet believes that growth happens when learners feel both challenged and supported.
Book / Podcast / Movie
Emmett is a detail-oriented instructor who’s spent the past decade helping people develop new tools, habits, and mindsets. Their approach is clear, practical, and always infused with curiosity and care.
Book / Podcast / Movie
Eleanor's background spans education, coaching, and creative development. With a strong focus on process and progress, Eleanor helps learners move from where they are to where they want to be—one step at a time.