PS framework selects best policy from library for CSO problems.
problem Policy selection in CSO with heterogeneous performance across covariate space.
method PS framework constructs library of candidate policies and learns a meta-policy to select the best one.
result PS consistently outperforms best single policy in heterogeneous CSO problems.
This work improves policy evaluation and selection using logarithmic smoothing for pessimistic off-policy estimation.
problem Offline evaluation and selection of policies from past data.
method Develops novel concentration bounds and a logarithmically smoothed estimator (LS) for improved policy selection and learning.
result The logarithmically smoothed estimator (LS) provides tighter bounds and better policy selection and learning.
Framework improves policy generalizability under biased training data.
problem Learning policies that generalize to a target population from biased training data.
method Characterizes sample selection bias using a selection variable, optimizes minimax value over uncertainty set, derives efficient algorithm.
result Policies generalize to target population, outperform standard methods.
Paper tackles policy selection in offline RL without hyperparameters.
problem Selecting between policies and value functions in offline RL.
method Designs hyperparameter-free algorithms based on BVFT for policy selection.
result Demonstrates effectiveness in discrete-action benchmarks like Atari.
Transfer learning significantly accelerates the reinforcement learning process by exploiting relevant knowledge from previous experiences. The problem of optimally selecting source policies during the learning process is of great importance yet challenging. There has been little theoretical analysis of this problem. In…
A new method for evaluating and selecting policies in contextual bandits improves confidence intervals and policy quality.
problem Evaluating and selecting policies in contextual bandits with logged data.
method Self-normalized Importance Weighting (SN) estimator with Efron-Stein tail inequality and multiplicative bias control.
result The method provides tighter confidence intervals and better policy selection compared to competitors.
Paper tackles policy selection with logged data and limited online interactions.
problem Safe evaluation and deployment of offline reinforcement learning policies.
method Active offline policy selection combining logged data with online interaction.
result Improves upon state-of-the-art OPE estimates and pure online policy evaluation.
New method selects best offline RL policies from logged data.
problem Hyperparameter selection challenges offline RL.
method Offline hyperparameter selection for RL algorithms.
result Reliable ranking and selection of policies across hyperparameters.
Method selects best estimator for off-policy evaluation.
problem Choosing the best estimator for off-policy evaluation.
method Generic data-driven method for estimator selection.
result Method is competitive with oracle estimator, up to a constant factor.
CASP selects reliable policies for two-stage recommender systems by considering both value and support.
problem The selection of a generator in two-stage recommender systems affects both the policy value and the data support used to estimate it.
method CASP combines doubly robust value estimation with a support-burden penalty.
result CASP selects lower-burden policies when estimated value and support credibility are in tension.
Study model selection in batch policy optimization with three error sources.
problem Learn a policy competitive with the best model class in batch policy optimization.
method Formalized in contextual bandit setting with linear model classes, addressing approximation error, statistical complexity, and dataset shift.
result No algorithm can optimally trade-off all three error sources, but relaxing any one enables near-oracle inequalities for the others.
One of the questions that arises when designing models that learn to solve multiple tasks simultaneously is how much of the available training budget should be devoted to each individual task. We refer to any formalized approach to addressing this problem (learned or otherwise) as a task selection policy. In this work …
Improved off-policy selection and learning in contextual bandits with better guarantees.
problem Selecting or training a reward-maximizing policy using data from a fixed behavior policy.
method A betting-based confidence bound applied to an inverse propensity weight sequence for off-policy selection, and a freezing condition for off-policy learning.
result The proposed methods achieve significantly improved guarantees over prior work, especially in small-data regimes.
Benchmarking off-policy evaluation methods for complex policies.
problem Lack of comprehensive benchmarks for off-policy evaluation methods.
method Collection of challenging high-dimensional control tasks and datasets.
result Standardized measure of progress for OPE methods.
New algorithms for model selection in off-policy evaluation of reinforcement learning.
problem Hyperparameter tuning for off-policy evaluation methods in reinforcement learning.
method Developed new model-free and model-based selectors with theoretical guarantees and a new experimental protocol.
result New model-free selector, LSTD-Tournament, demonstrates promising empirical performance.
Estimates and infers multi-stage stationary treatment policies with variable selection.
problem Valid inference for multi-stage stationary treatment policies with high-dimensional feature variables.
method Estimate the value function using augmented inverse probability weighted estimator, apply penalty for variable selection, construct one-step improvements for valid inference.
result Improved estimators are asymptotically normal, valid inference for policy parameters demonstrated.
Under a Bayesian framework, we formulate the fully sequential sampling and selection decision in statistical ranking and selection as a stochastic control problem, and derive the associated Bellman equation. Using value function approximation, we derive an approximately optimal allocation policy. We show that this poli…
Pipeline selects best RL policy from limited data.
problem Selecting best RL policy from small datasets.
method Task- and method-agnostic pipeline using multiple data splits.
result Pipeline produces higher-performing policies.
Sparse feature selection improves batch RL efficiency.
problem High-dimensional batch RL with many features.
method Sparse linear function approximation, Lasso, group Lasso, fitted Q-evaluation, fitted Q-iteration.
result Sparse feature selection makes batch RL more sample efficient.
POTEC tackles off-policy learning in large action spaces, improving effectiveness.
problem Existing OPL methods fail in large discrete action spaces due to bias or variance issues.
method Two-stage algorithm: cluster selection via policy-based approach, action selection via regression-based approach.
result POTEC provides substantial improvements in off-policy learning effectiveness, especially in large and structured action spaces.
VRER selectively reuses samples to improve policy optimization in complex systems.
problem Lack of effective reuse of historical samples in reinforcement learning.
method Variance reduction based experience replay (VRER) framework.
result VRER accelerates policy optimization and enhances performance.
Unified pair trading approach using hierarchical reinforcement learning.
problem Decoupling pair selection and trading leads to limited performance.
method Hierarchical reinforcement learning framework for joint pair selection and trading.
result Unified approach outperforms existing methods on real-world stock data.
OPERA blends multiple OPE estimators to evaluate new policies offline.
problem Lack of reliable offline policy evaluation methods for new policies.
method Adaptive blending of multiple OPE estimators without explicit selection.
result Consistent and reliable policy evaluation framework for offline RL.
Naive investors make riskier choices than optimal strategies in continuous-time finance.
problem Continuous-time Markowitz portfolio selection with naive reoptimization.
method Analytical derivation of naive policies from discretely naive policies.
result Naive policies are always riskier and less efficient than equilibrium policies.
Develops a support-aware framework for reserve-policy selection in advertising markets.
problem Log-based reserve-price evaluation risks weak support and subgroup harm.
method Support-aware offline decision framework converting logged evidence into certified policies.
result Preserves the best gate-passing policy while eliminating only policies with certified regret.
Modyn automates continuous ML model training on growing datasets.
problem Continuous model retraining is costly and impractical.
method Data-centric ML platform with policies for continuous training.
result Modyn enables high throughput training with sample-level data selection.
New adaptive temperature selection improves parallel tempering efficiency.
problem Enhancing mixing in multi-modal distributions using parallel tempering.
method Adaptive temperature selection using policy gradient approach.
result Lower integrated autocorrelation times achieved compared to traditional methods.
Paper proposes interpretable RL policies from a mixture of experts.
problem Making RL policies transparent and understandable in real-world applications.
method Policy iteration scheme with interpretable experts and prototypical states.
result Proposed algorithm learns policies comparable to neural networks but more interpretable.
Robust Policy Search is the problem of learning policies that do not degrade in performance when subject to unseen environment model parameters. It is particularly relevant for transferring policies learned in a simulation environment to the real world. Several existing approaches involve sampling large batches of traj…
Genetic algorithms have been widely used in many practical optimization problems. Inspired by natural selection, operators, including mutation, crossover and selection, provide effective heuristics for search and black-box optimization. However, they have not been shown useful for deep reinforcement learning, possibly …
This paper bridges the gap between theoretical and practical OPE for bandit problems.
problem Estimating the value of a target policy from samples generated by different policies.
method Categorizing OPE situations based on evaluation policy properties, proposing a meta-algorithm.
result Meta-algorithm successfully bridges the gap between theoretical and practical OPE for bandit problems.
Ensemble learning is a very prevalent method employed in machine learning. The relative success of ensemble methods is attributed to their ability to tackle a wide range of instances and complex problems that require different low-level approaches. However, ensemble methods are relatively less popular in reinforcement …
Study designs logging policies to minimize off-policy evaluation error.
problem Minimizing OPE error with logging policies for target policies.
method Characterizes reward-coverage tradeoff, proposes a unifying framework, derives optimal policies.
result Provides actionable guidance for firms choosing recommendation systems.
New Bellman error estimator improves offline model selection performance.
problem Selecting the best policy from logged data using mean squared Bellman error.
method Developed a more accurate estimator of MSBE and analyzed conditions for successful OMS.
result New estimator achieves impressive offline model selection performance on diverse tasks.
Paper uses RL to optimize multi-asset portfolios in fluctuating markets.
problem Optimizing multi-asset portfolios in time-varying financial markets.
method Soft Actor-Critic (SAC) algorithm for policy learning, policy iteration process.
result SAC algorithm outperforms in various criteria in simulated and real financial markets.
RO-TD learns sparse value functions efficiently.
problem Learning sparse value functions efficiently.
method RO-TD integrates off-policy convergent gradient TD methods and online convex regularization.
result RO-TD learns sparse value functions with low computational complexity.
Robust optimization and statistical robustness improve robot navigation policies.
problem Efficiently finding optimal robot navigation policies in uncertain environments.
method Combining robust optimization and statistical robustness with improved Bayesian optimization techniques.
result Safe and repeatable robot navigation policies are achieved with improved robust optimization methods.
Study proposes new OPE estimators for two-player zero-sum games.
problem Evaluating new policies using historical data from a different policy in multi-player zero-sum games.
method Doubly robust and double reinforcement learning estimators to project exploitability.
result Prove exploitability estimation error bounds and regret bounds for policy profiles.
VRER selectively reuses past observations to reduce variance in policy optimization.
problem Lack of effective experience replay for accelerating policy optimization in complex systems.
method Variance Reduction Experience Replay (VRER) framework that selectively reuses informative samples.
result VRER reduces gradient variance and improves policy learning over state-of-the-art algorithms.
Selective state-adaptive regularization improves offline RL performance.
problem Extrapolation errors and value overestimation in static dataset RL.
method State-adaptive regularization coefficients trust Bellman-driven results selectively.
result Significant improvement in performance on D4RL benchmark.
BOMS enhances offline MBRL by improving model selection with Bayesian optimization.
problem Inaccurate model selection in offline MBRL due to distribution shift.
method Proposes BOMS, an active model selection framework using Bayesian optimization.
result Improves model selection with only a small amount of online interaction.
The study designs a green investment fund and a hedging strategy for insurance policies linked to it.
problem Hedging unit-linked life insurance policies with an environmentally sensitive investment fund.
method Developed a carbon-intensity-driven portfolio selection rule and a quadratic hedging approach.
result The hedging strategy minimizes the variance of hedging costs, as demonstrated through numerical analysis.
In reinforcement learning, policy gradient algorithms optimize the policy directly and rely on sampling efficiently an environment. Nevertheless, while most sampling procedures are based on direct policy sampling, self-performance measures could be used to improve such sampling prior to each policy update. Following th…
Lapse-supported life insurance exacerbates adverse selection risks.
problem Lapse-supported life insurance increases adverse selection costs.
method Modeling 'Term to 100' contracts and analyzing three methods of managing lapse surplus.
result Adverse selection losses can be almost unlimited under certain conditions.
Machine learning improves Buchberger's algorithm for polynomial systems.
problem Optimizing S-pair selection in Buchberger's algorithm for polynomial systems.
method Reinforcement learning agents trained with PPO to select S-pairs.
result Trained model outperforms existing heuristics in polynomial additions.
Meta-AAD uses deep reinforcement learning to improve anomaly detection by selecting the most informative instances.
problem High false-positive rate in anomaly detection, especially in high-stake applications.
method Meta-AAD leverages deep reinforcement learning to train a meta-policy for query selection, optimizing the number of discovered anomalies.
result Meta-AAD significantly outperforms state-of-the-art re-ranking strategies and unsupervised baselines on 24 benchmark datasets.
This study uses OPE methods to quickly assess auction policies.
problem Rapid decision-making in dynamic auction environments.
method Off-Policy Evaluation and counterfactual methods.
result Improved policy selection and optimization.
AES improves policy gradient performance by adaptively selecting experience.
problem High variance in gradient estimators from past trajectories.
method AES learns an adaptive sampling distribution to minimise gradient variance.
result AES leads to significantly improved performance in continuous control tasks.