Nathan Jacobson

Nathan Jacobson is the Director of Media and Brand for Discovery Institute. After studying architectural design and philosophy at the University of Colorado, Jacobson earned his Master of Arts in Philosophy at Biola University's Talbot School of Theology. In 2001 he cofounded Alas Studio, a community of creatives in Zaragoza and then Barcelona. He created his first website on the Denver swing dance scene in 1996 and has worked as a designer and developer ever since. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Washington State.

Archives

Evolution News Evolves: Introducing Science and Culture Today

_{Rob Crowther, Nathan Jacobson
September 22, 2025}

For over 20 years, Evolution News has offered readers exclusive daily news and commentary on the evidence for intelligent design and the debate over evolution. Now, with a fresh design, a broader vision, and new name, Evolution News has become Science and Culture Today. On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid discusses the rebrand with two key architects of the new website, Discovery Institute's Director of Communications Rob Crowther and our Director of Media & Brand Nathan Jacobson. Discussion covers the history of the site from its beginnings in 2004 to the rationale and features of the new site, along with the importance of scientific discernment. Visit the new site at www.scienceandculture.com.

Evolution News Evolves

_{The Design of Science and Culture Today}_{Nathan Jacobson
August 18, 2025}

New features of the site include audio versions of every article, estimated reading times, advanced search, and in-context footnotes.

Depths of Design: Talking Boxes

_{Nathan Jacobson
March 17, 2023}

Our talking boxes take our requests, run their routines, and send out results but understand nothing, whether or not they’re made in China.

Depths of Design: Moving Pixels

_{Nathan Jacobson
March 13, 2023}

None of these avatars possess any inherent intelligence whatsoever. Every human instinct therein is an extension of a game developer’s forethought.

The Composite

_{Seductive Optics and Skeuomorphic Intelligence, Part IV.}_{Nathan Jacobson
March 9, 2023}

This is the last in a series. Read Part I, Part II – “Moving PIxels“, and Part III -“Talking Boxes“. The greatest aspiration of artificial intelligence Frankensteins is stitching together all the sundry parts into a moving, talking, seeing, and interacting android. Today, this composite of technologies is most famously embodied in Sophia. This android from Hanson Robotics is an international “celebrity”, appearing on late night shows and on the exhibit floors of tech conferences. With how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries. Mary Shelley, Frankenstein On its marketing page, Sophia’s marketing department puts the following words in its …

Depths of Design: Seductive Optics and Skeuomorphic Intelligence

_{Nathan Jacobson
March 9, 2023}

The effort to mirror objects in the world in our artistic creations reaches back into prehistory.

Talking Boxes

_{Seductive Optics and Skeuomorphic Intelligence, Part III.}_{Nathan Jacobson
March 8, 2023}

There will be synthesized versions of gravelly voices, deep baritones, fast talkers, low talkers, high talkers, yada, yada, yada. Amazon has added functions to enable Alexa to whisper, emphasize a word, or mimic local slang. But as our talking boxes run their routines, they understand nothing.

Moving Pixels

_{Seductive Optics and Skeuomorphic Intelligence, Part II.}_{Nathan Jacobson
March 7, 2023}

Whatever emotions we bring to the movie or to the game ourselves, our digital allies and enemies breathe no breaths, make no sacrifices, feel no lonely deaths. Living, dying, or respawning, they are as dead as a dead pixel.

Seductive Optics and Skeuomorphic Intelligence

_{Appearance and reality in art and artificial intelligence}_{Nathan Jacobson
March 6, 2023}

Things are not always as they seem. Artificial intelligence is like that. Art may be visually indistinguishable from a man or woman, passing the art equivalent of a Turing Test, we know they're not in the least the same kind of thing as what they portray. Paint does not suffer. Stone does not breathe.

Google: Rank Censorship Behind the Scenes

_{We live under a state of highly sophisticated and ubiquitous suppression of disfavored voices}_{Nathan Jacobson
January 1, 2023}

One year ago today (January 1st, 2022) we saw behind the curtain at Google. With vast information scattered across a billion websites, whoever controls the search algorithm largely controls information. And if Google.com were a stage, the spotlight is centered squarely on the first result, with some ambient light spilling onto a few supporting roles. The second page results are essentially extras, unlikely to catch the attention of the audience at all. About 25% of web searchers click that first result. Another 50% follow one of the next half-dozen. A scant 6% will ever make it to the second page.* If your breaking news, breakthrough product, or bold opinion piece isn’t in a starring role on that first page, it will languish in the wings behind the curtains. Recent revelations about …