Dr. Alex Liu (formerly Yong-chuan Liu or Yongchuan Liu; Chinese:
刘永川博士) is a globally recognized expert in data science and artificial
intelligence. He is renowned for his work on big data analytics and machine learning as applied to business and social research, and especially as
a leading developer of operational causal AI and enterprise AI maturity
ladders. Dr. Liu is currently advising several AI startups, leading the RMDS Lab, serving as
an advisor to the Harvard Data Science Review, and teaching
applied data science & AI at a few Southern California universities
including the Claremont Graduate University and
the California Institute of Technology. He is a thought leader in data science, certified by IBM, and a distinguished data scientist, certified by the Open Group.
He is a frequent speaker at industrial conferences such as IBM THINK and ODSC, and has long been an advocate of applying technology, data science, and AI to create positive social impact and advance the public good. His work is guided by a simple mission: to develop technologies that expand meaningful participation, strengthen collective intelligence, and empower people and communities to flourish.
This commitment to using knowledge and
technology for societal benefit can be traced back to his graduate years
at Stanford University, where he combined quantitative social research
with civic leadership, serving as the first president of one of the
largest Chinese student networks in North America. Before serving RMDS Lab and Harvard Data Science Review in December 2019, Dr. Liu served as Chief Data Scientist for several corporations, including IBM, RetentionScience, and TRG iSKY. Prior to that, Dr. Liu taught advanced research methods to Ph.D. candidates at the University of Southern California and the University of California at Irvine, while consulting for many well-known organizations, including the United Nations, Ingram Micro, and Sears. Dr. Liu is one of the few experts who has applied data science to a wide range of fields, from marketing effectiveness and risk scoring to natural disaster prediction, aging, health care, democracy, spiritual capital, and philosophy.
His unique data science approach focuses on creating positive social
impact through technology, integrating technical innovation with social,
organizational, and human considerations. For this work, he has received
many awards including the Outstanding Service Award from the Graduate Student Association in the USA, the Nonprofit Campaign Award from the Media Alliance, the MIB Business Innovation Award, the Outstanding Service Award from USAID, the AIU Teaching Innovation Award, the IBM Solution Award, the IBM Hero Award, the 2024 Banner I. Miller Award from the American Meteorological Society, and the Fulbright Fellowship.
Alex holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and an M.S. in Statistical Computing from Stanford University. His doctoral dissertation, Patterns and Results of the Third Wave of Democratization: A Quantitative Analysis and Computational Modeling, examined global democratization through quantitative analysis and computational modeling. He also earned an M.A. in Sociology from Peking University, where his master's thesis focused on a quantitative analysis of China's population aging, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern Polytechnical University in China.
His publications include
"Transforming Healthcare with Big Data and AI",
"Apache Spark Machine Learning Blueprints",
"Structural Equation Modeling and Latent Variable Approaches",
"Building Regression Models in Social Science",
"Building Structural Equation Models in Social Science",
"4Capital Theory - Material Capital, Intellectual Capital, Social Capital and Spiritual Capital"
and
"Patterns and Results of the Third Democratization Wave".
Alex Liu's Memoirs
1986-1992 Learning at Stanford: Building Foundations (Studying Democratization)
1993-1999 Innovation at Silicon Valley: Exploring Applications (Studying Globalization)
2000-2009 Exploring Spiritual Capital in LA: Value Building (Studying Civilization Clash)
Three Waves Study - Lessons from Democratization and Globalization for AI | Jun, 2026 | Medium
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