LMC-TS uses MCMC for efficient posterior sampling in contextual bandits.
problem Efficiency of Thompson sampling for high-dimensional contextual bandits.
method Langevin Monte Carlo for direct posterior sampling.
result LMC-TS achieves sublinear regret bound for linear contextual bandits.
Bayesian classifier improves robustness with optimistic score ratio.
problem Limited information on class-conditional distribution.
method Optimistic score ratio for robust binary classification.
result Bayesian classifier using optimistic score ratio is robust and computationally tractable.
Paper solves stochastic contextual linear bandits using linear bandit algorithms.
problem Stochastic contextual linear bandits with unknown context distribution.
method Establishes a reduction framework to convert to linear bandit problems.
result Achieves nearly optimal regret bound of O ( d T log T ) O(d\sqrt{T\log T}) O ( d T log T ) . A new policy for contextual bandits adapts to reward vector shifts.
problem Learning under reward vector shifts with ordered rewards.
method Adaptive-discretization and optimistic elimination policy.
result Established upper bounds on preference-based regret.
Transformers model contextual relations using probabilistic measures, revealing their expressive power.
problem Lack of clear understanding of Transformer's ability to model contextual relations.
method Introduced a measure-theoretic framework connecting softmax attention and entropy-regularized optimal transport.
result Transformer architectures can approximate arbitrary contextual relations, and the choice of normalization affects how these relations are represented.
This paper improves offline contextual bandits using distributional robustness.
problem Improving offline contextual bandits with robustness.
method Extends Distributionally Robust Optimization (DRO) for offline contextual bandits, introducing a convex reformulation of Counterfactual Risk Minimization.
result Automatic calibration of asymptotic confidence intervals for policy optimization.
IDS improves reinforcement learning with contextual information.
problem Optimizing IDS for contextual reinforcement learning.
method Investigated contextual bandit problems and proposed a computationally-efficient IDS.
result Contextual IDS outperforms conditional IDS by considering future contexts.
Greedy algorithm achieves sublinear regret for various distributions.
problem Efficient performance of greedy algorithms in linear contextual bandit problems.
method Introduced Local Anti-Concentration (LAC) condition to ensure sublinear regret.
result Greedy algorithm achieves O ( poly log T ) O(\operatorname{poly} \log T) O ( poly log T ) cumulative expected regret. LoCo-RLHF models diverse human feedback with contextual information.
problem Heterogeneous human feedback from diverse contexts and preferences.
method Low-rank contextual preference model, PRS policy.
result LoCo-RLHF achieves tighter sub-optimality gap than existing methods.
The paper proposes a method to learn and leverage contextual preference distributions for better decision-making.
problem Heterogeneous and context-dependent human preferences in decision-making problems.
method A sequential learning-and-optimization pipeline using a bounded-variance score function gradient estimator to train a predictive model mapping contextual features to preference distributions.
result The approach reduces average post-decision surprise by up to 25 times compared to risk-averse baselines in a ridesharing environment.
A new pricing strategy learns customer valuations without noise distribution knowledge.
problem Setting optimal prices for products based on customer valuations with unknown noise.
method Developed a novel perturbed linear bandit framework to learn both contextual functions and market noise.
result Proved sub-linear regret bound and demonstrated superior performance on simulations and real data.
Universal algorithm learns unknown distribution for various decision-making problems.
problem Various statistical measures in contextual sequential decision-making.
method Infinite-dimensional functional regression oracle for cumulative distribution functions.
result Utility regret rate bounded by polynomial decay of eigenvalue sequence.
Paper tackles domain adaptation for contextual bandits with sub-linear regret.
problem Adapting contextual bandit algorithms across domains with distribution shift.
method Learn a bandit model for the target domain using feedback from the source domain.
result Sub-linear regret bound maintained across domains.
Paper proposes a network framework for prosumers to manage peak loads in Iran.
problem Balancing renewable prosumers' self-sufficiency with grid integration under uncertainty.
method Distributed contextual stochastic optimization (DCSO) framework with consensus-based sharing.
result Integration of prediction and optimization reduces peak loads and costs.
A new algorithm avoids worst-case outcomes in risky contexts.
problem Risk-averse behavior in contextual bandits is challenging.
method Developed a first risk-averse contextual bandit algorithm with online regret guarantees.
result First algorithm with an online regret guarantee for risk-averse contextual bandits.
New algorithms for model selection in linear contextual bandits without feature diversity conditions.
problem Model selection in linear contextual bandits without feature diversity conditions.
method Data-adaptive algorithms that provide model selection guarantees without feature diversity conditions.
result O(d^α T^{1-α}) model selection guarantees with no feature diversity conditions.
Optimal algorithm for contextual bandits with unknown context distributions.
problem Designing efficient algorithms for contextual bandits with unknown context distributions.
method Cross-learning setting, novel technique for coordinating multiple epochs.
result Nearly tight regret bound of O ~ ( T K ) \widetilde{O}(\sqrt{TK}) O ( T K ) for learning to bid in first-price auctions and sleeping bandits. Paper solves nonparametric contextual bandit with unbounded contexts.
problem Sequential decision making with unbounded context distributions.
method Two nearest neighbor methods combined with UCB exploration.
result Achieves minimax optimal regret under weak margin condition and light-tailed distributions.
Proposes sampling from reverse diffusion posteriors for contextual bandits.
problem Complex distributions in contextual bandits.
method Approximate posterior sampling with a diffusion model prior using Laplace approximation.
result Empirically consistent and efficient approximations for contextual bandits.
VITS improves Thompson Sampling for contextual bandits with efficient approximate inference.
problem Intractable posterior sampling in traditional Thompson Sampling for contextual bandits.
method VITS uses Gaussian Variational Inference for efficient posterior approximations.
result VITS achieves sub-linear regret bound similar to traditional TS.
CADR estimator improves inference for contextual bandit data.
problem Valid inference on contextual bandit data.
method CADR estimator for policy value, addressing adaptive data collection challenges.
result CADR provides correct coverage of confidence intervals.
We address the problem of regret minimization in logistic contextual bandits, where a learner decides among sequential actions or arms given their respective contexts to maximize binary rewards. Using a fast inference procedure with Polya-Gamma distributed augmentation variables, we propose an improved version of Thomp…
Contextual information helps identify the best arm more efficiently.
problem Best arm identification with contextual covariate information.
method Proposed a context-aware version of the 'Track-and-Stop' strategy.
result Expected number of arm draws matches lower bound asymptotically.
Paper addresses federated contextual bandits with encryption.
problem Building contextual bandits with vertically distributed data.
method Design of O3M encryption scheme for LinUCB and LinTS.
result Proposed protocols achieve good performance and privacy.
Motivated by the application of real-time pricing in e-commerce platforms, we consider the problem of revenue-maximization in a setting where the seller can leverage contextual information describing the customer's history and the product's type to predict her valuation of the product. However, her true valuation is un…
Study on adaptivity constraints in linear contextual bandits with optimal design.
problem Impact of adaptivity constraints on linear contextual bandits.
method Two models of limited adaptivity: batch learning and rare policy switches. Proposed distributional optimal design.
result Achieves minimax-optimal regret with optimal number of policy switches and batches.
New algorithms robust to adversarial data achieve optimal performance.
problem Adversarial robustness in high-dimensional online learning problems.
method Alternating minimization scheme combining least-squares and convex reweighting.
result Achieves optimal robustness guarantees without distributional assumptions.
Paper improves Thompson Sampling for linear contextual bandits.
problem Empirical Thompson Sampling does not achieve optimal regret bounds.
method Develops a novel estimator with adaptive data augmentation and coupling.
result Achieves nearly minimax optimal performance.
Meta-learning reformulated as Bayesian risk minimization.
problem Learning models to quickly adapt to new tasks from small datasets.
method Formalized meta-learning as Bayesian risk minimization, using a probabilistic framework to compute predictive distributions from posterior distributions of latent variables conditioned on contextual datasets.
result A novel Gaussian approximation for the posterior distribution that converges to maximum likelihood estimates and outperforms Neural Process on benchmark datasets.
We study contextual bandits with budget and time constraints, referred to as constrained contextual bandits.The time and budget constraints significantly complicate the exploration and exploitation tradeoff because they introduce complex coupling among contexts over time.Such coupling effects make it difficult to obtai…
New method tackles high-dimensional contextual bandits with flexible kernel models.
problem Maximizing rewards in decision-making scenarios with many features.
method Introduces stochastic assumptions and no-regret learning for Gaussian kernels.
result Achieves no-regret learning even with feature dimensions growing with samples.
A fundamental challenge in contextual bandits is to develop flexible, general-purpose algorithms with computational requirements no worse than classical supervised learning tasks such as classification and regression. Algorithms based on regression have shown promising empirical success, but theoretical guarantees have…
Paper proposes efficient offline neural bandit method.
problem Offline policy learning with neural networks.
method Provable efficient offline contextual bandit with neural network function approximation.
result Method provably generalizes over unseen contexts.
Improved Thompson Sampling for high-dimensional sparse bandits.
problem Stochastic linear contextual bandits with high-dimensional features.
method Thompson Sampling with spike-and-slab priors and variational inference.
result Nearly optimal upper bound on expected cumulative regret.
A new algorithm for cryo-EM data collection that balances reward and latency.
problem Optimizing data collection in cryo-EM experiments with action delays.
method Latency-aware contextual bandit framework and COAF algorithm.
result The COAF algorithm efficiently maximizes reward over time in cryo-EM experiments.
A new model optimizes portfolios by learning stock return distributions conditioned on factors.
problem Optimizing portfolios with high-dimensional asset-specific factors.
method Conditional Diffusion Transformer architecture linking each asset's return to its factor vector.
result The model outperforms benchmarks in mean-variance and mean-CVaR optimization.
Generalization and adaptation of learned skills to novel situations is a core requirement for intelligent autonomous robots. Although contextual reinforcement learning provides a principled framework for learning and generalization of behaviors across related tasks, it generally relies on uninformed sampling of environ…
Unified framework for risk-aware policy learning in contextual bandits.
problem Optimizing decision rules in high-stakes domains with adverse outcomes.
method Distributional framework for Lipschitz-continuous risk functionals, with novel empirical concentration inequalities.
result Data-dependent suboptimality bounds with an i l d e O ( 1 / n ) ilde{\mathcal{O}}(1/\sqrt{n}) i l d e O ( 1/ n ) rate, matching risk-neutral offline policy optimization. Framework reduces contextual bandit learning to offline regression with near-optimal regret.
problem Efficient learning with large action spaces and complex reward functions.
method Offline Estimation to Decisions (OE2D) algorithm that minimizes regret with near-optimal oracle calls.
result Near-optimal regret for contextual bandits with large action spaces and O ( l o g ( T ) ) O(log(T)) O ( l o g ( T )) offline oracle calls. We propose a contextual-bandit approach for demand side management by offering price incentives. More precisely, a target mean consumption is set at each round and the mean consumption is modeled as a complex function of the distribution of prices sent and of some contextual variables such as the temperature, weather, …
OE2D framework reduces contextual bandits to offline regression for near-optimal regret.
problem Efficiently learning contextual bandits with large action spaces and complex reward functions.
method Offline Estimation to Decisions (OE2D) algorithm that reduces contextual bandits to offline regression.
result Near-optimal regret for contextual bandits with large action spaces and O ( log T ) O(\log T) O ( log T ) calls to an offline regression oracle. Adaptive algorithms minimize regret in matching markets with contextual arm preferences.
problem Minimizing regret in matching markets with context-dependent player utilities.
method Developed adaptive algorithms for stochastic and adversarial contexts, providing upper and lower bounds.
result Achieved sublinear regret bounds for both stochastic and adversarial contexts.
We stabilize the Kumaraswamy distribution for efficient sampling and differentiation.
problem Numerical instabilities in the Kumaraswamy distribution's inverse CDF and log-pdf.
method Identified and resolved numerical issues, introduced a stabilized KS distribution.
result Stabilized Kumaraswamy distribution supports efficient sampling and differentiation.
Asymptotically optimal algorithm for contextual linear bandits.
problem Contextual linear bandits with suboptimal algorithms.
method Decoupling context distribution and exploration policy, incremental primal-dual approach, confidence intervals.
result Asymptotic optimality and scalability of the algorithm.
Neural Thompson Sampling uses deep neural networks for contextual bandit problems.
problem Solving contextual multi-armed bandit problems.
method Adapts deep neural networks for exploration and exploitation in a novel posterior distribution.
result Guaranteed cumulative regret of O ( T 1 / 2 ) \mathcal{O}(T^{1/2}) O ( T 1/2 ) for bounded reward functions. Two novel methods identify influential features in CMABs for better reward distribution.
problem Suboptimal features degrade rewards, interpretability, and efficiency in CMABs.
method Heterogeneous Incremental Effect (HIE) and Heterogeneous Distribution Divergence (HDD) methods.
result Consistent ability to identify influential HTE features, enhancing CMAB performance.
Paper develops robust OPF method using contextual information.
problem Optimal Power Flow problem under incomplete uncertainty knowledge.
method Distributionally robust chance-constrained formulation with probability trimmings and optimal transport.
result Distributional robustness improves expected cost and system reliability.
Spotify improves content mix using contextual bandits.
problem Skewed historical data and varying user preferences across contexts.
method Contextual bandits to dynamically learn optimal content type distribution.
result Improved precision and user engagement with under-represented content types.