Neil Traft
@ntraft.bsky.social
PhD student at the Vermont Complex Systems Institute. Interested in ML, evolution, self-organization, & collective intelligence.
http://ntraft.com
https://t.co/ja3fdtRLdM
http://ntraft.com
https://t.co/ja3fdtRLdM
Happy New Year! Here's some microorganism porn. vimeo.com/1024357218
(srsly though. it's mesmerizing.)
(srsly though. it's mesmerizing.)
Portraying micro life
This video is a compilation of movies of microorganisms I've made the past decade. In 2023 it was 300 years ago that the father of microscopy Antoni van Leeuwenhoek…
vimeo.com
January 6, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Happy New Year! Here's some microorganism porn. vimeo.com/1024357218
(srsly though. it's mesmerizing.)
(srsly though. it's mesmerizing.)
Reposted by Neil Traft
claude code is fucking insane
i know literally NOTHING about Hegel. ZERO. and it just built me a complete system of German idealism
i know literally NOTHING about Hegel. ZERO. and it just built me a complete system of German idealism
January 5, 2026 at 6:49 PM
claude code is fucking insane
i know literally NOTHING about Hegel. ZERO. and it just built me a complete system of German idealism
i know literally NOTHING about Hegel. ZERO. and it just built me a complete system of German idealism
Fascinating story:
1. Fear-mongering about peanut allergies multiplies in the late 90s.
2. AAUP advises "no peanuts til age 3", despite NO evidence.
3. This advice CAUSES a massive spike in peanut allergies!
4. They had to do a large study just to undo the damage & convince everyone it was safe!
1. Fear-mongering about peanut allergies multiplies in the late 90s.
2. AAUP advises "no peanuts til age 3", despite NO evidence.
3. This advice CAUSES a massive spike in peanut allergies!
4. They had to do a large study just to undo the damage & convince everyone it was safe!
The LEAP RCT on peanut allergies: A randomized trial in which equipoise arose from parental anxiety, not scientific uncertainty.
The food pyramid vs the evidence pyramid
Peanut allergies, the LEAP RCT, and when experts issue guidance under pressure.
www.argmin.net
January 6, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Fascinating story:
1. Fear-mongering about peanut allergies multiplies in the late 90s.
2. AAUP advises "no peanuts til age 3", despite NO evidence.
3. This advice CAUSES a massive spike in peanut allergies!
4. They had to do a large study just to undo the damage & convince everyone it was safe!
1. Fear-mongering about peanut allergies multiplies in the late 90s.
2. AAUP advises "no peanuts til age 3", despite NO evidence.
3. This advice CAUSES a massive spike in peanut allergies!
4. They had to do a large study just to undo the damage & convince everyone it was safe!
Astonishing: the default behavior of Chrome's "Listen to this page" feature is NOT to simply read you the page, LIKE YOU WOULD EXPECT, but instead to make one of those goofy NotebookLM AI podcasts... and I had to search the Help docs to figure out how to change it. Thanks, Google.
December 29, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Astonishing: the default behavior of Chrome's "Listen to this page" feature is NOT to simply read you the page, LIKE YOU WOULD EXPECT, but instead to make one of those goofy NotebookLM AI podcasts... and I had to search the Help docs to figure out how to change it. Thanks, Google.
Reposted by Neil Traft
MAORL (Multi-Agent Olof RL)
arxiv.org/abs/2512.16705
arxiv.org/abs/2512.16705
December 24, 2025 at 7:21 AM
MAORL (Multi-Agent Olof RL)
arxiv.org/abs/2512.16705
arxiv.org/abs/2512.16705
This is a travesty!!
Also I have questions... for the branches that aren't terminated, where will they move? Will they be in the same building, under a different name? In which case, will it all be functionally the same thing (but with lots of political disruption)?
Also I have questions... for the branches that aren't terminated, where will they move? Will they be in the same building, under a different name? In which case, will it all be functionally the same thing (but with lots of political disruption)?
It is hard to overstate how critical @ncar-ucar.bsky.social is to climate science in the US and around the world. It's the beating heart of our field. Generations of scientists have trained there, and almost everyone I know relies on deep collaborations with NCAR scientists. It's end is unthinkable.
Exclusive: The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, according to a senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.
December 19, 2025 at 4:05 AM
This is a travesty!!
Also I have questions... for the branches that aren't terminated, where will they move? Will they be in the same building, under a different name? In which case, will it all be functionally the same thing (but with lots of political disruption)?
Also I have questions... for the branches that aren't terminated, where will they move? Will they be in the same building, under a different name? In which case, will it all be functionally the same thing (but with lots of political disruption)?
Random observation: did you know this?!
I knew about how Einstein's general relativity is required to make GPS navigation work, but I'm not as familiar with how quantum mechanics factors into semiconductor technology. Remarkable.
I knew about how Einstein's general relativity is required to make GPS navigation work, but I'm not as familiar with how quantum mechanics factors into semiconductor technology. Remarkable.
December 16, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Random observation: did you know this?!
I knew about how Einstein's general relativity is required to make GPS navigation work, but I'm not as familiar with how quantum mechanics factors into semiconductor technology. Remarkable.
I knew about how Einstein's general relativity is required to make GPS navigation work, but I'm not as familiar with how quantum mechanics factors into semiconductor technology. Remarkable.
Reposted by Neil Traft
In applying AI to material science, biology, etc, capitalism is trying to shed science.
The point is to substitute the engineering of a machine that can generate what science has hitherto done, but without having people know things. Knowledge ultimately residing in private property is the dream.
The point is to substitute the engineering of a machine that can generate what science has hitherto done, but without having people know things. Knowledge ultimately residing in private property is the dream.
Jeff Bezos Creates A.I. Start-Up Where He Will Be Co-Chief Executive
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:12 PM
In applying AI to material science, biology, etc, capitalism is trying to shed science.
The point is to substitute the engineering of a machine that can generate what science has hitherto done, but without having people know things. Knowledge ultimately residing in private property is the dream.
The point is to substitute the engineering of a machine that can generate what science has hitherto done, but without having people know things. Knowledge ultimately residing in private property is the dream.
[In considering candidates] "I actually view publication volume completely negatively... I've learned, from experience, that those with a really high volume [don't have a depth of knowledge]." —@abeirami.bsky.social
#slowscience FTW
#slowscience FTW
Up next, our Mentorship Panel featuring
@abeirami.bsky.social, @sarahooker.bsky.social, and @meenakshikhosla.bsky.social moderated by @icannistraci.bsky.social.
Excited to have such inspiring leaders sharing their perspectives on the current state of the ML peer-review system! 🔍✨
@abeirami.bsky.social, @sarahooker.bsky.social, and @meenakshikhosla.bsky.social moderated by @icannistraci.bsky.social.
Excited to have such inspiring leaders sharing their perspectives on the current state of the ML peer-review system! 🔍✨
December 6, 2025 at 8:10 PM
[In considering candidates] "I actually view publication volume completely negatively... I've learned, from experience, that those with a really high volume [don't have a depth of knowledge]." —@abeirami.bsky.social
#slowscience FTW
#slowscience FTW
I thought this was a fascinating way to motivate model merging: to be able to *interpolate* between model classes, rather than be forced into discrete choices. (models trained on different datasets, models of different sizes, etc.)
"Interpolation and alignment are two sides of the same coin."
"Interpolation and alignment are two sides of the same coin."
December 6, 2025 at 6:11 PM
I thought this was a fascinating way to motivate model merging: to be able to *interpolate* between model classes, rather than be forced into discrete choices. (models trained on different datasets, models of different sizes, etc.)
"Interpolation and alignment are two sides of the same coin."
"Interpolation and alignment are two sides of the same coin."
Did you know that you could create hybrids across different neural net architectures—*without* updating the weights??
Come check out my poster at the UniReps @unireps.bsky.social workshop at 3:45pm today at #NeurIPS! (Or you can already browse the posters on the wall in 20D throughout the day.) 😃
Come check out my poster at the UniReps @unireps.bsky.social workshop at 3:45pm today at #NeurIPS! (Or you can already browse the posters on the wall in 20D throughout the day.) 😃
December 6, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Did you know that you could create hybrids across different neural net architectures—*without* updating the weights??
Come check out my poster at the UniReps @unireps.bsky.social workshop at 3:45pm today at #NeurIPS! (Or you can already browse the posters on the wall in 20D throughout the day.) 😃
Come check out my poster at the UniReps @unireps.bsky.social workshop at 3:45pm today at #NeurIPS! (Or you can already browse the posters on the wall in 20D throughout the day.) 😃
Reposted by Neil Traft
Join us this Saturday at @neuripsconf.bsky.social 2025 for the @unireps.bsky.social Workshop.
December 3, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Join us this Saturday at @neuripsconf.bsky.social 2025 for the @unireps.bsky.social Workshop.
Me, at people with #NeurIPS badges walking away from the convention center right now: "Don't they know that Rich Sutton is speaking in 10 minutes??? 😨"
December 3, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Me, at people with #NeurIPS badges walking away from the convention center right now: "Don't they know that Rich Sutton is speaking in 10 minutes??? 😨"
Reposted by Neil Traft
🔵🔴 Join us for the UniReps Workshop: Unifying Representations in Neural Models at
@neuripsconf.bsky.social 2025!
📍 Ballroom 20D, San Diego Convention Center
Dec 6
Don’t forget to fill out the participation form. Joining in person or remotely? We welcome your questions for the panel.
🔗 unireps.org
@neuripsconf.bsky.social 2025!
📍 Ballroom 20D, San Diego Convention Center
Dec 6
Don’t forget to fill out the participation form. Joining in person or remotely? We welcome your questions for the panel.
🔗 unireps.org
December 1, 2025 at 6:40 PM
🔵🔴 Join us for the UniReps Workshop: Unifying Representations in Neural Models at
@neuripsconf.bsky.social 2025!
📍 Ballroom 20D, San Diego Convention Center
Dec 6
Don’t forget to fill out the participation form. Joining in person or remotely? We welcome your questions for the panel.
🔗 unireps.org
@neuripsconf.bsky.social 2025!
📍 Ballroom 20D, San Diego Convention Center
Dec 6
Don’t forget to fill out the participation form. Joining in person or remotely? We welcome your questions for the panel.
🔗 unireps.org
So stoked to be going to my first #NeurIPS!! It’s crazy that in 10+ years of robotics and AI, I've never been to the great Lollapalooza of Machine Learning. 🥳🎆
I’m presenting my Frankensteinian efforts to stitch together parts of different neural networks! 🧪
I’m presenting my Frankensteinian efforts to stitch together parts of different neural networks! 🧪
December 1, 2025 at 6:20 PM
So stoked to be going to my first #NeurIPS!! It’s crazy that in 10+ years of robotics and AI, I've never been to the great Lollapalooza of Machine Learning. 🥳🎆
I’m presenting my Frankensteinian efforts to stitch together parts of different neural networks! 🧪
I’m presenting my Frankensteinian efforts to stitch together parts of different neural networks! 🧪
Reposted by Neil Traft
Check out our new work on using low-rank perturbations to make evolution strategies work for billion-parameter models.
Introducing 🥚EGGROLL 🥚(Evolution Guided General Optimization via Low-rank Learning)! 🚀 Scaling backprop-free Evolution Strategies (ES) for billion-parameter models at large population sizes
⚡100x Training Throughput
🎯Fast Convergence
🔢Pure Int8 Pretraining of RNN LLMs
⚡100x Training Throughput
🎯Fast Convergence
🔢Pure Int8 Pretraining of RNN LLMs
November 22, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Check out our new work on using low-rank perturbations to make evolution strategies work for billion-parameter models.
Reposted by Neil Traft
The UniReps Workshop accepted papers are out! 🎉
Huge thanks to the authors, reviewers, and incredible AC committee for their dedication and effort in making this happen. 🙏 openreview.net/group?id=Neu...
Huge thanks to the authors, reviewers, and incredible AC committee for their dedication and effort in making this happen. 🙏 openreview.net/group?id=Neu...
NeurIPS 2025 Workshop UniReps
Welcome to the OpenReview homepage for NeurIPS 2025 Workshop UniReps
openreview.net
November 17, 2025 at 9:27 PM
The UniReps Workshop accepted papers are out! 🎉
Huge thanks to the authors, reviewers, and incredible AC committee for their dedication and effort in making this happen. 🙏 openreview.net/group?id=Neu...
Huge thanks to the authors, reviewers, and incredible AC committee for their dedication and effort in making this happen. 🙏 openreview.net/group?id=Neu...
Reposted by Neil Traft
What if instead of buying software from a store, you could grow it in your garden?
November 5, 2025 at 9:43 PM
What if instead of buying software from a store, you could grow it in your garden?
What an incredible tool! I think I'll be returning to this a lot over the next month!
The most interesting papers might be the ones that seem misclassified or out of place...
The most interesting papers might be the ones that seem misclassified or out of place...
Inside NeurIPS 2025: The Year’s AI Research, Mapped
New blog post!
NeurIPS 2025 papers are out—and it’s a lot to take in. This visualization lets you explore the entire research landscape interactively, with clusters and
@cohere.com LLM-generated explanations that make it easier to grasp.
New blog post!
NeurIPS 2025 papers are out—and it’s a lot to take in. This visualization lets you explore the entire research landscape interactively, with clusters and
@cohere.com LLM-generated explanations that make it easier to grasp.
November 4, 2025 at 2:06 AM
What an incredible tool! I think I'll be returning to this a lot over the next month!
The most interesting papers might be the ones that seem misclassified or out of place...
The most interesting papers might be the ones that seem misclassified or out of place...
It's too easy to write garbage survey papers and get lots of citations. Over time, I've learned to ignore most survey papers and recognize some markers of quality.
ArXiv has not had an explicit policy on survey papers. In CS we have recently adopted the same policy of requiring successful peer review prior to release. This is because we are inundated with LLM slop surveys intended to boost citation counts.
November 2, 2025 at 12:03 AM
It's too easy to write garbage survey papers and get lots of citations. Over time, I've learned to ignore most survey papers and recognize some markers of quality.
Reposted by Neil Traft
The blog post is available: blog.arxiv.org/2025/10/31/a...
November 1, 2025 at 5:06 PM
The blog post is available: blog.arxiv.org/2025/10/31/a...
Reposted by Neil Traft
It's been 8 months since I notified @springernature.com of a clear-cut case of fake references in a book chapter which they published. They have still not taken any action as they claim to still be investigating.
I will not review for Springer again until this matter is satisfactorily resolved.
I will not review for Springer again until this matter is satisfactorily resolved.
October 21, 2025 at 11:27 AM
It's been 8 months since I notified @springernature.com of a clear-cut case of fake references in a book chapter which they published. They have still not taken any action as they claim to still be investigating.
I will not review for Springer again until this matter is satisfactorily resolved.
I will not review for Springer again until this matter is satisfactorily resolved.
Reposted by Neil Traft
UBC’s department of Computer Science invites applications for up to 2 full-time tenure-track positions. The department is particularly interested in researchers in: visualization, robotics, reinforcement learning, data management, and data mining. @cs.ubc.ca
science.ubc.ca/about/careers
science.ubc.ca/about/careers
October 21, 2025 at 5:07 PM
UBC’s department of Computer Science invites applications for up to 2 full-time tenure-track positions. The department is particularly interested in researchers in: visualization, robotics, reinforcement learning, data management, and data mining. @cs.ubc.ca
science.ubc.ca/about/careers
science.ubc.ca/about/careers
Translation: You have no new messages.
October 17, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Translation: You have no new messages.
Reposted by Neil Traft
This year's ALICE guest speakers 🧑🔬
- Angel Goñi-Moreno - @angelgm.bsky.social
- Alyssa Adams - @alyssa-m-adams.bsky.social
- Alexander Mordvintsev
- Eric Medvet - @ericmedvetts.bsky.social
- Kyrre Glette - @kyrre2000.bsky.social
- Stefano Nichele - @stenichele.bsky.social
- Susan Stepney
- Angel Goñi-Moreno - @angelgm.bsky.social
- Alyssa Adams - @alyssa-m-adams.bsky.social
- Alexander Mordvintsev
- Eric Medvet - @ericmedvetts.bsky.social
- Kyrre Glette - @kyrre2000.bsky.social
- Stefano Nichele - @stenichele.bsky.social
- Susan Stepney
October 13, 2025 at 10:06 AM
This year's ALICE guest speakers 🧑🔬
- Angel Goñi-Moreno - @angelgm.bsky.social
- Alyssa Adams - @alyssa-m-adams.bsky.social
- Alexander Mordvintsev
- Eric Medvet - @ericmedvetts.bsky.social
- Kyrre Glette - @kyrre2000.bsky.social
- Stefano Nichele - @stenichele.bsky.social
- Susan Stepney
- Angel Goñi-Moreno - @angelgm.bsky.social
- Alyssa Adams - @alyssa-m-adams.bsky.social
- Alexander Mordvintsev
- Eric Medvet - @ericmedvetts.bsky.social
- Kyrre Glette - @kyrre2000.bsky.social
- Stefano Nichele - @stenichele.bsky.social
- Susan Stepney