The influence of additional information on the decision making of agents, who are interacting members of a society, is analyzed within the mathematical framework based on the use of quantum probabilities. The introduction of social interactions, which influence the decisions of individual agents, leads to a generalizat…
Safe autonomous decisions made with machine learning predictions using Conformal Decision Theory.
problem Safe decisions from imperfect machine learning predictions.
method Conformal Decision Theory framework for producing safe decisions.
result Safe decisions with provable statistical guarantees of low risk.
The paper analyzes frameworks for integrating sustainability into investment decisions.
problem Understanding how ESG factors influence investment choices.
method Examined and analyzed various theoretical frameworks including Behavioral Finance, Modern Portfolio, and Risk Management.
result Investors increasingly integrate ESG factors to optimize financial outcomes and societal goals.
In this paper the theory of semi-bounded rationality is proposed as an extension of the theory of bounded rationality. In particular, it is proposed that a decision making process involves two components and these are the correlation machine, which estimates missing values, and the causal machine, which relates the cau…
Develops scenario theory for multi-criteria decision making.
problem Need for robustness assessment with multiple criteria and datasets.
method Collectively treats risks associated with individual criteria for multi-criteria decision problems.
result More accurate robustness certificates and sharper quantification of simultaneous criterion satisfaction.
Empirical model tackles decision problems without specifying states of the world.
problem Decision problems under uncertainty with inaccessible states of the world.
method Empirical approach using observed act--consequence pairs as model primitives.
result Optimality in empirical decision problems addressed using protocol-based empirical choice functions.
In this fact sheet we give some preliminary research results on the Bayesian Decision Theory. This theory has been under construction for the past two years. But what started as an intuitive enough idea, now seems to have the makings of something more fundamental.
Paper presents a Bayesian-decision-theory framework for long-tailed classification.
problem Heavy imbalance and asymmetric misprediction costs in long-tailed datasets.
method Bayesian-decision-theory perspective, unifying re-balancing and ensemble methods.
result Improves accuracy for all classes, especially tails, with provably optimal decisions.
Paper uses stats to predict treatment choice based on illness probability.
problem Improving treatment decision-making in personalized medicine.
method Statistical decision theory with maximum regret evaluation.
result Estimates illness probability for better treatment choice.
The article presents a translation of some widespread financial terminology into the language of decision theory. For instance, financial leverage can be regarded as an object of choice or a decision. We show how the optics of decision theory allows perceiving the recently introduced metrics of see-through-leverage, wh…
The purpose of this article is to propose a new "theory," the Strategic Analysis of Financial Markets (SAFM) theory, that explains the operation of financial markets using the analytical perspective of an enlightened gambler. The gambler understands that all opportunities for superior performance arise from suboptimal …
Paper offers a fast convergence theory for offline decision making.
problem Offline decision making problems, including reinforcement learning and off-policy evaluation.
method Introduces a framework (DMOF) and algorithm (EDD) with a fast convergence guarantee.
result Demonstrates a fast convergence guarantee with a lower bound complement.
New theory extends rank-dependent utility for risk and ambiguity.
problem Modeling decision-making under risk and ambiguity.
method Axiomatizes a new preference relation with ambiguity index, probability weighting, and utility function.
result Extends rank-dependent utility to risk and ambiguity, reducing to existing models under specific conditions.
New algorithm tracks COVID-19 outbreak phases.
problem Decision-making in pandemic data.
method Developed a new algorithm (BLLR) based on decision theory.
result Demonstrated ability to track different phases of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Paper identifies a shared toolkit of strategies for risk management across fields.
problem Uncertainty and risk management in various fields.
method Systematic identification and categorization of 110 strategies.
result RDOT: Risk-reducing Design and Operations Toolkit provides versatile responses to uncertainty.
New concept of partial law invariance connects decision theory and financial risk management.
problem Connecting decision theory and financial risk management under uncertainty.
method Characterizing partially law-invariant coherent risk measures via a novel representation formula.
result Strong partial law invariance bridges the gap between existing risk measure representations.
In stochastic decision problems, one often wants to estimate the underlying probability measure statistically, and then to use this estimate as a basis for decisions. We shall consider how the uncertainty in this estimation can be explicitly and consistently incorporated in the valuation of decisions, using the theory …
We investigate how the choice of decision makers can be varied under the presence of risk and uncertainty. Our analysis is based on the approach we have previously applied to individual decision makers, which we now generalize to the case of decision makers that are members of a society. The approach employs the mathem…
In this article, we address the question of how non-knowledge about future events that influence economic agents' decisions in choice settings has been formally represented in economic theory up to date. To position our discussion within the ongoing debate on uncertainty, we provide a brief review of historical develop…
Blackwell's theorems influence modern AI through information compression and decision making.
problem Information compression and decision making under uncertainty.
method Theorems developed in the 1940s and 1950s, applied to modern AI.
result Blackwell theorems remain relevant and influence modern AI subfields.
IDT learns human preferences from uncertain decisions, even when humans are suboptimal.
problem Learning human preferences from uncertain and suboptimal decisions.
method Inverse decision theory (IDT) framework, statistical analysis of IDT, characterizing sample complexity.
result Learning preferences is easier when decisions are more uncertain, even if humans are suboptimal.
The study analyzes when Bayesian averaging over decision trees is reliable.
problem When do Bayesian model averaging weights over decision trees provide reliable information?
method Closed-form solution for Bayesian decision trees with Catalan-exponential priors.
result Established a complete non-asymptotic theory of rational commitment thresholds.
Critiques binary classification evaluation methods, advocating for proper scoring rules.
problem The dominance of top-K metrics and fixed-threshold evaluations in machine learning.
method Introduces a decision-theoretic framework mapping evaluation metrics to their use cases, and implements a clipped Brier score variant.
result Demonstrates the clinical utility of proper scoring rules through a Python package, exttt{briertools}.
Subjective expected utility theory assumes that decision-makers possess unlimited computational resources to reason about their choices; however, virtually all decisions in everyday life are made under resource constraints - i.e. decision-makers are bounded in their rationality. Here we experimentally tested the predic…
Unified framework for DRO and DTA using Bayesian nonparametrics.
problem Combining DRO and DTA under ambiguity.
method Unified framework using DP and HDPs, with outlier robustness.
result Favorable performance in prediction accuracy and stability.
Paper tackles risk-sensitive decision-making under uncertainty.
problem Risk-sensitive decision-making problem under uncertainty.
method Formulated as a stochastic control problem, delineated necessary optimality conditions.
result Illustrative examples from optimal betting and inventory management support the theory.
The study reveals decision trees' limitations in fitting data from additive models, proving a generalization lower bound.
problem Understanding the generalization performance of decision trees on additive models.
method Analyzing decision tree algorithms with sparse additive models, proving generalization lower bounds.
result Generalization lower bounds for decision trees on sparse additive models are much worse than minimax rates.
Overview of risk-sensitive Markov decision processes with Optimized Certainty Equivalent.
problem Optimizing decision-making under risk in Markov processes.
method Analyzes risk-sensitive criteria using Optimized Certainty Equivalent, including entropic risk and Conditional Value-at-Risk.
result Conditions for the existence of optimal policies and solution procedures are provided.
New decision-theoretic calibration error metric improves prediction reliability.
problem Improving the reliability of predictions for decision-making.
method Proposed Calibration Decision Loss (CDL) and an efficient algorithm to achieve near-optimal CDL.
result Near-optimal CDL guarantees vanishing payoff loss from miscalibration.
Geometric methods solve sampling, optimisation, inference, and adaptive decision-making.
problem Efficient solutions for sampling, optimisation, inference, and adaptive decision-making.
method Derive algorithms exploiting geometric structures of Hamiltonian systems, Hilbertian subspaces, and information geometry.
result Wide range of geometric theories emerge in these fields, enabling efficient solutions.
New method improves decision-making accuracy without complex calculations.
problem Improving decision-making accuracy in machine learning.
method Introducing a new measure called calibration decision loss (CDLK) for structured families of post-processing functions. result Proves upper and lower bounds for natural classes K of post-processing functions. New complexity measure for interactive learning reduces regret to near-optimal levels.
problem Challenges in sample-efficient, adaptive learning algorithms for interactive decision making.
method Introduces the Decision-Estimation Coefficient and the Estimation-to-Decisions (E2D) principle.
result Unified algorithm design principle E2D achieves optimal sample-efficient learning.
This paper synthesizes and analyzes some important current and recent contributions to the theory of the firm under uncertainty. In so doing, it examines the production and hedging decisions of the competitive firm under a single source and multiple sources of uncertainty.
Bayesian decision theory outlines a rigorous framework for making optimal decisions based on maximizing expected utility over a model posterior. However, practitioners often do not have access to the full posterior and resort to approximate inference strategies. In such cases, taking the eventual decision-making task i…
This paper solves the open problem of computing Bayes optimal prediction for decision trees using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method.
problem Computing the Bayes optimal prediction for decision trees is infeasible due to an infeasible summation over all division patterns of a feature space.
method Solved the open problem using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method with adaptively tuned step size.
result Computed the Bayes optimal prediction for decision trees using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method.
Bayesian principles improve agentic AI decision-making.
problem Decision-making under uncertainty in agentic AI systems.
method Bayesian decision theory applied to the orchestration layer of agentic AI.
result Bayesian principles enhance agentic AI's ability to make decisions under uncertainty.
Paper formalizes Simon's satisficing through FFSD, proving its equivalence to expected utility theory.
problem Formalizing Herbert Simon's bounded rationality concept in economic decision-making.
method Developed FFSD framework using Lean 4 theorem prover, proving equivalence to expected utility theory.
result Equivalence theorem linking FFSD to expected utility maximization for approximate indicator functions.
New method to quantify feature contributions to disparity without access to decision-making model.
problem Quantifying feature contributions to disparity when decision-making model is not accessible.
method Use information theory to measure redundant statistical dependency between protected attribute and feature.
result Quantify feature contributions to disparity using information theory.
New decision-theoretic characterization separates belief and decision posteriors.
problem Understanding the conditions under which loss-based updating coincides with Bayesian updating.
method Decision-theoretic approach to distinguish belief and decision posteriors.
result Generalized Bayes coincides with ordinary Bayesian updating only if the loss is proportional to negative log-likelihood.
Research in psychology and neuroscience has successfully modeled decision making as a process of noisy evidence accumulation to a decision bound. While there are several variants and implementations of this idea, the majority of these models make use of a noisy accumulation between two absorbing boundaries. A common as…
Human decision-making underlies all economic behavior. For the past four decades, human decision-making under uncertainty has continued to be explained by theoretical models based on prospect theory, a framework that was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. However, theoretical models of this kind have develop…
Abstract: Surveying connections between ML and Control Theory.
problem Addressing the intersection of Machine Learning and Control Theory.
method Develops connections through reinforcement learning, supervised learning, deep learning, and stochastic gradient descent.
result Machine Learning and Control Theory are interconnected, with ML solving large control problems and Control Theory providing tools for ML.
The paper tackles optimal policy learning with asymmetric counterfactual utilities in healthcare decisions.
problem Learning optimal policies from observed data with asymmetric counterfactual utilities.
method The approach involves identifying and minimizing the maximum expected utility loss using statistical decision theory and solving intermediate classification problems.
result One can learn minimax loss decision rules from observed data.
The study analyzes how covariance estimation errors affect the global minimum-variance portfolio under heavy-tailed distributions.
problem The impact of covariance estimation errors on the global minimum-variance portfolio under heavy-tailed distributions.
method Characterization of covariance-estimation error's effect on GMVP suboptimality, derivation of regret identity and bound, application to heavy-tailed returns.
result The decision geometry of GMVP regret is invariant to a (p-1)-dimensional projection of the error matrix, with invariance to the covariance-scale direction as an exact special case.
Tutorials on preference learning with Gaussian Processes.
problem Understanding individual preferences and choices for efficient and personalized applications.
method Presentation of a comprehensive framework for preference learning with Gaussian Processes, incorporating rationality principles.
result Construction of preference learning models that encompass various utility models and scenarios.
Bayesian approach to selecting data for machine learning.
problem Iterative data selection in machine learning algorithms.
method Embedding data selection into decision theory and deriving Bayes-optimal criteria.
result Mitigates confirmation bias in data selection.
The paper corrects Bayesian neural network approximations to improve decision quality.
problem Inaccurate posterior approximations in Bayesian neural networks lead to suboptimal decisions.
method Develops methods to calibrate approximate posterior predictive distributions for better decision making.
result Empirically produces higher quality decisions compared to previous methods.
Investment herding can reduce household consumption, a phenomenon called crowding-out effect.
problem Investment herding's impact on household consumption.
method Optimal control theory to model and solve for household investment and consumption decisions.
result Existence of crowding-out effect due to investment herding.