Yao(Leo) Li is a PhD student in Communication at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. His research explores how interactive and immersive media—including video games, virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR), and artificial intelligence (AI)—reshape public diplomacy, trust formation, and cross-cultural communication in the digital age. He is particularly interested in how emerging media function as new infrastructures for international communication and cultural engagement, influencing how people perceive, understand, and relate to one another across borders.
Before entering academia, Yao founded his first film production company at the age of 19 and later launched digital media and content ventures focused on storytelling, audience engagement, and online communication. These experiences sparked his long-term interest in the relationship between media technologies, cultural narratives, public opinion, and international perception.
At USC, Yao earned a Master of Public Diplomacy degree and served as President of the Society of Public Diplomats (SPD), the nation’s first student-run public diplomacy organization. He has worked with the USC U.S.-China Institute on AI-assisted social media sentiment analysis and has contributed research and writing through the USC Center on Public Diplomacy. His recent work examines topics including video game diplomacy, digital soft power, AI-mediated communication, and the role of immersive experiences in cultural diplomacy, including research related to Expo 2025 Osaka.
Drawing on experience across academia, media production, entrepreneurship, and creative industries, Yao seeks to bridge public diplomacy and emerging media research. His work aims to understand how interactive technologies shape trust, influence public perception, and transform international relationships in an increasingly interconnected world.
Outside of academia, Yao is an independent photographer who enjoys documenting cultures, communities, and everyday life through visual storytelling.