This week, watch our interview with Yao Yi Chiang on Mapping the Past to Predict the Future

Cloudwalkers is now on Amazon Prime Video.

Yao-Yi Chiang’s journey at USC’s Information Sciences Institute—from master’s student to postdoc—ignited a career at the intersection of machine learning, spatial computing, and historical preservation. He is developing AI tools that read and analyze historical maps to unlock lost knowledge about how cities, ecosystems, and infrastructure have evolved over the past century.

His work spans air quality forecasting, environmental monitoring, and digital archaeology, enabling everything from exposure mapping in underserved communities to identifying long-forgotten pollution sites like abandoned wells and railroads. With collaborators ranging from historians to librarians, Chiang is turning dusty archives into searchable, analyzable data, giving communities the power to understand their past and forecast their future.

Published on October 23rd, 2025

Last updated on November 5th, 2025