# Jon Stokes

> Jon Stokes is a 25-year veteran of online media who co-founded Ars Technica in 1998 with Ken Fisher, helping build it into the internet's premier tech publication before selling it to Condé Nast for $25 million. An engineer turned journalist turned product builder, he holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from LSU alongside two master's degrees from Harvard Divinity School in early Christian history - a combination that explains his unusual range: equally comfortable dissecting CPU microarchitecture, AI policy, Second Amendment law, and New Testament scholarship. Today he's co-founder and CPO of Symbolic AI, runs a Substack newsletter on AI and crypto with 13,000+ subscribers, and serves as a fellow at Open Source Defense.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CPO at Symbolic AI
- **Organizations:** Symbolic AI, Open Source Defense, jonstokes.com (Substack), RETURN (web editor), Ars Technica (co-founder, emeritus)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Computer Engineering (minor in Mathematics), Louisiana State University, Master of Divinity, Harvard Divinity School, Master of Theology (concentration: New Testament and Christian Origins), Harvard Divinity School, Ph.D. student, New Testament department (status uncertain), University of Chicago
- **Known for:** Co-founded Ars Technica in 1998, one of the most respected technology publications on the internet, Helped negotiate sale of Ars Technica to Condé Nast for $25 million in 2008, Published 'Inside the Machine' (2007), a widely acclaimed textbook on microprocessor architecture used by engineers and students worldwide

## Career timeline

- **1998** — Co-founded Ars Technica with Ken Fisher; operated remotely from Chicago
- **1998-2008** — Senior CPU Editor at Ars Technica; wrote in-depth hardware and computer architecture coverage under the handle 'Hannibal'
- **2007** — Published 'Inside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture' via No Starch Press
- **2008** — Ars Technica sold to Condé Nast Digital for $25 million (part of a $25M three-site purchase)
- **2008-2011** — Served as Deputy Editor at Ars Technica post-acquisition
- **2011-2015** — Joined WIRED as an editor; contributed to major tech and policy coverage
- **~2015** — Joined Collective Idea as a software developer
- **~2016-2019** — Second software developer and eventually CTO at EatApp.co (Dubai-based, 500 Startups), the top hospitality platform in MENA
- **~2020-2022** — Worked for Balaji Srinivasan on TheNetworkState.com and predecessor 1729.com — community management, writing, editing, and software development
- **2022** — Became Fellow at Open Source Defense; began contributing to Compact Magazine and other publications on tech-policy intersections
- **2022-present** — Co-founded Symbolic AI; serves as Chief Product Officer, building AI-powered tools for publishers
- **2023-present** — Runs jonstokes.com Substack newsletter (13,000+ subscribers) on AI, machine learning, crypto, and tech policy; web editor at RETURN

## Achievements

- Co-founded Ars Technica in 1998, one of the most respected technology publications on the internet
- Helped negotiate sale of Ars Technica to Condé Nast for $25 million in 2008
- Published 'Inside the Machine' (2007), a widely acclaimed textbook on microprocessor architecture used by engineers and students worldwide
- Built jonstokes.com Substack to 13,000+ subscribers covering AI and crypto
- Wrote influential tech policy pieces published in WIRED, TechCrunch, Reason, Politico, LA Times, HuffPost, and Quartz
- Served as CTO at EatApp.co, growing it into the top hospitality platform in the Middle East and North Africa
- Fellow at Open Source Defense, contributing technical expertise to Second Amendment policy debates
- Co-founded Symbolic AI, building AI-powered editorial workflow tools for publishers

## Latest updates

- **2025-04** — Rebooted jonstokes.com newsletter with a focus on practical LLM workflows for real work, sharing prompts and techniques he uses with Claude Code, Cursor, and Symbolic AI
- **2025-05** — Published analysis of the AI reasoning revolution, arguing that DeepSeek and test-time compute scaling change the geopolitical calculus around AI and GPU export controls
- **2025-04** — Posted on X about AGI-era crypto and proof-of-human without Worldcoin
- **2025-03** — Continuing to build Symbolic AI's AI-powered publishing tools as CPO

## Links

- Website: https://www.jonstokes.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonstokes/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/jonst0kes

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jon-stokes
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-22