AI Changed the City. Who Gets to Stay?

San Francisco is ground zero for the global generative AI boom. As billions in venture capital return to the Bay Area and AI labs aggressively lease commercial office space across SOMA, the city stands at a pivotal crossroads:

Is this technological renaissance creating shared prosperity—or accelerating the displacement of the communities, artists, and working-class families that give San Francisco its soul?

"AI Changed the City. Who Gets to Stay?" is an intimate, 70-person Town Hall bringing together AI founders, engineers, housing advocates, small business owners, city policy leaders, and longtime residents for an unfiltered, data-grounded dialogue.

Rather than debating abstract sci-fi predictions, our moderators will examine the concrete forces reshaping the city today: the surge in SOMA commercial leasing, soaring residential rents, labor market polarization, and the civic policies required to build an inclusive future.

Meet Your Co-Moderators

We are honored to feature two of the Bay Area’s foremost investigative reporters leading this evening’s discussion:

• Chase DiFeliciantonio (Technology & Labor Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle)Chase covers the rapid development of artificial intelligence, workforce dynamics, and automation policy across Silicon Valley, examining how tech innovation impacts municipal governance and local employment.
• Laura Waxmann (Commercial Real Estate & Housing Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle)Laura provides deeply reported coverage on San Francisco’s commercial leasing corridors, zoning laws, tenant protections, and housing affordability across SOMA, the Mission, and downtown.

Together, they bring front-row journalistic rigor to bridge the divide between Silicon Valley’s ambition and San Francisco’s civic reality.