Trevor Lohrbeer

Founder of @DayOptimizerApp. Swing dancer & barefoot runner. Live part-time in #Asheville and #Berlin.

[Pivotal Research @pivotal_org]

Applications for the Pivotal Research Fellowship Q3 2026 cohort are now open.

9 weeks in London with mentors from UK AISI, Google DeepMind, Redwood, and other leading orgs. Stipend, travel, accommodation, compute, and a dedicated desk at LISA are all covered – we do everything except the research itself.

Of fellows who want to continue, ~90% secure extension funding (up to 6 months), with active support from Pivotal and their mentor.

Apply now!

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

Currently I have two AirBnB requests that I did on my own waiting for acceptance. So, still no clue where I'm sleeping tonight because the hosts have 24 hours to respond.

THIS is what the AirBnB rebooking assistance gets you—shit.

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

I've been sitting outside the door of an AirBnB for the past 2 hours. The host provided the wrong code for the door and has been unreachable.

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

@Airbnb support has been unhelpful with the issue. While they refunded the cost of the AirBnB and (belatedly) gave me a 20% coupon, I'm stuck finding my own new room sitting here in the dark, where all the last-minute hotel bookings are incredibly expensive.

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

@joshua_xu_ Compared to prior Heygen models, this is awesome. Compared to Veo 3 though, it's stuck in the uncanny valley.

Having watched these models improve over the past year or so, I think you need to fundamentally rethink your approach. Though maybe they work for your business model.

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

Just read the Amazon cancelled Wheel of Time. After seeing the new Veo 3 videos, I suspect in a few years, we'll have fan fiction seasons that keep series that are cancelled going, even when the major studios don't want to invest in them.

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

For those interested in the work I did during my fellowship at Pivotal Research, below is a recording of the lighting talk I presented at ControlConf.

ControlConf was the first AI control conference put on by @redwood_ai and @farairesearch in March '25.

https://t.co/7kN1CeWtKm

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

@karpathy The idea was to have an agent attempt to solve tasks, then reflect on successes and failures to derive principles it could save in memory that would then be injected into the system prompt on subsequent runs.

Happy to chat with anyone doing similar work on the specific details.

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

@karpathy Sounds like in-context principle learning, similar to this paper: https://t.co/r139yk7hCi

I wrote a proposal for a UK AISI eval last year that used this concept to improve performance on the Intercode CTF benchmark. It got accepted, but I had to hand off the implementation.

[Pivotal Research @pivotal_org]

Applications to our Q3 Research Fellowship are now open!

→ June 30 – Aug 29 in London at the London Initiative for Safe AI
→ Work on AI safety with the guidance of your experienced mentor and research manager
→ £5,000 stipend + meals, travel & housing support

(link in bio)

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

Of course, this is the problem with aphorisms. They sound like great wisdom, but are often just flashy words that sound good—and often contradict each other.

While they sometimes contain kernels of truth, it's best to treat these as perspectives, not principles.

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

The cognitive dissonance in this week's @farnamstreet newsletter is strong.

If attention is the most valuable thing you spend, then those who receive the most attention gain the most value.

If you believe the second aphorism, then flashy gets the most value, not boring.

[AI Security Institute @AISecurityInst]

We’re looking for talented individuals and organisations to help us build evaluations.

We’ll reward bounties for new evaluations and agent scaffolding tools that assess the risks of autonomous AI systems.

Find out more and apply by 30 November:

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

I just published A Taxonomy of AI Safety Evals containing my current thoughts on the different types of AI safety evals from the perspective of a software engineer.

https://t.co/Yx94NAVQEh

#AISafety #AIEvaluations

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

- Strategies for effectively scheduling these tasks, including leveraging your natural biorhythms and low-interruption zones.

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

In the latest episode of AI Meets Productivity, ChatGPT and I explore the concepts of Anchors, Bumpers, and Core Commitments to help you take control of your day.

https://t.co/Of8jb9UUYU

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

What you’ll learn:
- How to prioritize your most impactful tasks (Anchors) to make progress on your goals.
- The role of Bumpers in maintaining flexibility and managing your day when things don’t go awry.
- Why Core Commitments are essential to sustaining your energy and focus.

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

🎙️ New episode of AI Meets Productivity!

This week ChatGPT and I dive into why we need AIs with customizable morality to balance societal norms with personalized morals and to support future moral growth.

#AI #AIEthics #Podcast #AIandSociety

https://t.co/vNkcIm9kWe

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

🎙️ What would it mean to be done for the day?

In this episode, we explore how to define the end of your workday with strategies like time blocking, managing energy, and focusing on key accomplishments.

https://t.co/G8k5uuxlQz

#ChatGPT #podcast

[Trevor Lohrbeer @FastFedora]

Recorded a video podcast episode of AI Meets Productivity today with a virtual avatar of Ryan Hoover, CEO of Product using the new Interactive Avatar tech from @HeyGen_Official

Aside from some lag occasionally, the realism is incredible. Check it out at:
https://t.co/Ua9RBbtxvh