English

On Solving a Stochastic Shortest-Path Markov Decision Process as Probabilistic Inference

Machine Learning 2021-09-14 v1 Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

Previous work on planning as active inference addresses finite horizon problems and solutions valid for online planning. We propose solving the general Stochastic Shortest-Path Markov Decision Process (SSP MDP) as probabilistic inference. Furthermore, we discuss online and offline methods for planning under uncertainty. In an SSP MDP, the horizon is indefinite and unknown a priori. SSP MDPs generalize finite and infinite horizon MDPs and are widely used in the artificial intelligence community. Additionally, we highlight some of the differences between solving an MDP using dynamic programming approaches widely used in the artificial intelligence community and approaches used in the active inference community.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2109.05866,
  title  = {On Solving a Stochastic Shortest-Path Markov Decision Process as Probabilistic Inference},
  author = {Mohamed Baioumy and Bruno Lacerda and Paul Duckworth and Nick Hawes},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.05866},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

Presented at the second International Workshop on Active Inference (IWAI 2021); 11 pages, 2 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-24T05:54:43.141Z